"The change of generation has been going on for six or seven years": Ivanisevic calls stories surrounding Alcaraz changing of the guard 'stupid'

Tennis News
Tuesday, 01 August 2023 at 19:30
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Goran Ivanisevic reacted to his pupil Novak Djokovic's defeat against Carlos Alcaraz.
The former Croatian tennis player responded to the wave of comments talking about a new generation after the Big 3. Goran Ivanisevic stated that his protégé Novak Djokovic has the level to maintain his crown.
“Those stories are already a bit ‘stupid’,” Ivanisevic told Sportske Novosti.
“The change of generation has been going on for six or seven years. If we look at [Daniil] Medvedev, [Andrey] Rublev, [Karen] Khachanov, [Denis] Shapovalov, Felix [Auger-Aliassime], [Jannik] Sinner, Alcaraz, [Holger] Rune… Alcaraz has been here for two years, but, let’s say, Medvedev has been here for five or six years, he is 27 years old. They are not from yesterday.
“Alcaraz is a story by himself, and Sinner is the only one who can threaten him at the US Open, along with Novak. The game that Sinner has doesn’t match Alcaraz and they have had very interesting matches so far.
Also, if Medvedev plays well on the day, he is also a phenomenal player for me. Novak remains the only ‘dinosaur’ among those older ones, the rest are all young guys. It’s a normal sequence, but there’s still something to ask the elders.”
Ivanisevic also addressed the comments criticizing world No. 2 'Nole' for arguing with his team during tournaments:
“No, that's nonsense,” he said.
“First of all, I can't hear half of what he says. These are huge courts, the crowd is shouting and you can't hear. It doesn't bother me, it's emotions, he has to get it out somehow.”
“It's constantly reported 'He shouted again, this again, that again...' We've talked a million times and I don't have a problem with it at all. I was also a tennis player once, sometimes it's difficult to say a technical thing in two seconds. What's important is that he plays as well as he possibly can.”
As of now, Alcaraz remains the world No. 1 after winning the Wimbledon title, although Djokovic is still in close pursuit. While the 23-time Grand Slam champion will not be playing in the Canadian Open, the Spaniard is just a few weeks away from defending his US Open title, a tournament where Djokovic does not have to defend points as he did not participate in the 2022 edition.

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