Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz played in a charity doubles match at the Arthur Ashe Stadium before the US Open.
Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz to Olympic gold a few weeks ago (Image: (Image: Getty Images))
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were reunited on Arthur Ashe ahead of the US Open – and Djokovic disclosed his simple message for the Spaniard after recently beating him at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Serbian superstar clinched gold at the expense of the young Spaniard – but told him after the match his time would come. Speaking about Alcaraz after playing in a doubles exhibition match with Andre Agassi and John McEnroe at the US Open, Djokovic revealed: “I told Carlos [Alcaraz] at the net when we finished the final that I was very grateful to him for letting me win the gold. He’s probably going to have like 3 gold medals before he retires.”
Djokovic’s triumph in Paris marked the submission of the final puzzle piece into his illustrious trophy collection. The young Spanish sensation Alcaraz made his Olympic debut, with expectations of future glories already predicted by Djokovic.
Alcaraz was alongside Andre Agassi for their US Open exhibition match (Image: (Image: Getty))
Their latest meeting on court took place during a star-studded charity event preceding the 2024 US Open, which featured McEnroe and Agassi alongside the modern-day greats, boasting a combined total of an astounding 43 grand slam victories.
Commenting on the intensity of their charity doubles clash, Djokovic reflected, “I don’t think I’ve ever played, maybe, I don’t know, a few times in my life, on such a high level, intensely for three hours, only two sets.”
Out of their seven head-to-head confrontations, Djokovic leads with significant wins, including the Olympic and the 2023 French Open semi-finals, both at critical junctures in their rivalry.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz has registered monumental victories over Djokovic, most notably at the Wimbledon finals in both 2023 and 2024. Nevertheless, the Spaniard’s four major titles pale in comparison to Djokovic’s staggering collection of twenty-four championships.