"I am looking for a little bit more respect": Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz involve in friendly banter ahead of Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were involved in a bit of friendly banter ahead of Wimbledon 2025. The second Grand Slam of the year will commence on Monday in London, featuring some of the world's top players.

In the men’s singles category, Alcaraz will be defending his title for the second year in a row. Interestingly, Alcaraz’s two Wimbledon titles came after beating Djokovic in the final. In 2023, he got the better of the former world number one in a five-set thrilling contest with a score of 1–6, 7–6(8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4. Last year, Alcaraz ended up triumphing in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2, 7-6.

Djokovic and Alcaraz were featured in a video just before the start of the competition. In that video, Alcaraz was asked how it felt to face a player like Djokovic in a competition where he lifted the title seven times. In response to that, Alcaraz stated that it was a ‘privilege’ to play Djokovic in such a significant competition.

“He was a privilege to play against here. Its crazy but I mean its privilege to play him here,” he said. In response to that, Djokovic was quick to remind him that he is looking forward to getting ‘more respect’ from the young Spaniard who defeated him two times in the final at Wimbledon. “I am looking for a little bit more respect from him. Because you know he is talking about respect, but last two years, he didn’t give me respect on this court,” said Djokovic.

Alcaraz will start his journey at Wimbledon 2025 with a match against Italy’s Fabio Fognini, whereas Djokovic will face France’s Alexandre Muller in his tournament opener. Both matches will be played on Monday.