Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the Davis Cup after falling to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open semi-finals, claiming he needed a break. Spain might have benefited the world number two after losing their initial Group C match to the Czech Republic 3-0 on Wednesday.
Djokovic spoke to the Spanish media in Valencia ahead of Serbia’s Friday match against Spain. He defended Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal from the tournament and made some remarks about the 20-year-old saying: “Maybe you guys are upset he’s not playing for Spain, because he’s 20 years old and I’m 36, and how he’s tired and I’m not. It’s important to understand he’s got a lot of time ahead of him.”
At the US Open 2023, Djokovic overcame Medvedev to win his 24th Grand Slam title. Djokovic further added: “He already played for Spain last year, you can’t forget that. He won the US Open last year and after a few days he was here playing for his heart and his passion for his country.”
The world number one recalled the controversy that followed when he decided not to represent Serbia in the annual men’s team competition. He said: ” I have skipped the Davis Cup several times, I know the backlash and reaction from my country were not so great and there’s a lot of negativity when you skip playing for your country.”
Djokovic remarked in a funny way and said: “Even though he’s 20 years old, it doesn’t mean he’s a Superman. He needs to rest as well. It’s better for us, the Serbian team that he’s not here, honestly, but I’m sure he’ll be back and bring a lot of joy to Spain.”
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXOmKn9Bp1E
Novak Djokovic in 2023
LWWWWWWLWW Currently the world no.1, Novak played his last match on the 10th of September when he beat world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 6-3 7-6(5) 6-3 in the final of the U.S. Open to win his 96th career title.
This season the Serbian has managed to achieve an overall 45-5 match record. Novak has won 5 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open, French Open, Cincinnati and U.S. Open. Djokovic got to the final in Wimbledon.
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
WLWLLWLWWW Ranked no.2, Carlos played his last match on the 8th of September when he was overcome by world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the semifinal of the U.S. Open (draw).
This year Alcaraz has a composed 58-7 match record. The Spaniard has won 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. The Spaniard was the finalist in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz squared off 4 times. Their actual head to head record is 2-2. Before, the last time they fought against each other, Novak Djokovic won 5-7 7-6(7) 7-6(4) in the final in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open) on the 20th of August 2023.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
