Spain’s young tennis star Carlos Alcaraz believes that world number one Novak Djokovic is ‘never’ vulnerable. The 36-year-old is often regarded as the greatest player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won as many as 24 Grand Slams in his illustrious career.
This year, Djokovic is going through a bit of a lean patch as he has yet to play in a final of any event, something which remains an anomaly in his career. Alcaraz, who himself is regarded as one of the most highly-rated players currently playing in the men’s tennis in the singles category, asked whether the reigning world number one has become more vulnerable this year.
The current world number three responded by stating that is not the case and highlighted that people are not used to seeing Djokovic not winning something.
“He never is. Now he does not have exceptional results, although they are very good, with Grand Slam or Monte Carlo semi-finals,” he said. “The thing is that we are used to seeing him win everything.
Alcaraz has recently struggled with fitness concerns which is why he ended up missing out on the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. Talking about it, the two-time Grand Slam winner revealed that he is not sure what injury he has and that the doctors are looking into it.
“It appeared on Friday, before starting Monte Carlo,” he said. “It was a consequence of a change of balls and surface. At the beginning of training, I began to notice that my arm was feeling a little heavy.
“I didn’t give it any importance because I had already felt this feeling before, your arm feels heavy but you can continue perfectly. There was a change of balls, and on the first forehand I hit, I already noticed something was happening.
“I tried another one, just in case it was just the moment, and then I saw that, no, I couldn’t. I called the physio, I stopped training, we did tests and what I had came out. Honestly, I don’t know exactly [what the injury is]. The doctor takes him, I don’t want to give it too much importance. If I tell you it’s an overload, it still isn’t.”
I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play! 🥲 I was really looking forward to playing... See you next year! @ROLEXMCMASTERS @atptour
