Does Carlos Alcaraz have a Novak Djokovic problem?

Leading up to the 2025 Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz was considered one of the favorites. Jannik Sinner was the top favorite for obvious reasons, but Carlos Alcaraz was the only player who bested the Italian at least twice in 2024.

With no other player coming close to the World No. 1's level, many assumed that if somebody was going to beat Sinner, it would be Alcaraz. However, it didn’t materialize as Carlos Alcaraz was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open, which poses a rather interesting question: Does Carlos Alcaraz have a Novak Djokovic problem?

He might have because, in the words of the Spaniard himself, he is quite obsessed with Djokovic. He famously said it ahead of the Shanghai Masters.

"Almost in every practice, I'm not gonna lie, I practice with a goal, I go to a tournament with a goal," Alcaraz said when asked how often he thinks about Djokovic.

When he said those words, plenty in the tennis community reacted with mixed emotions. Former legendary player Jimmy Connors was one of those who cautioned Alcaraz against over-fixating on one opponent.

“My first thought about that [Alcaraz’s quote] is even though Alcaraz beat him at Wimbledon, he’s been kind of a thorn in his side a little bit. But he’s got to be careful doing that because then you’re preparing for only one guy,” Connors said on his Advantage Connors podcast.

Connors is right, and it’s not only the preparation part. If you tailor your game to counter Djokovic, you might expose yourself to other things. Alcaraz hasn’t fallen into that trap, but mentally he’s been struggling to deal with the Serb.

Alcaraz has now lost four of the last five matches they played, and all of them have been important. The only noteworthy win from the Spaniard came at the Wimbledon final, which was, in fairness, a really great performance from the 21-year-old who enjoys playing on grass.

On hard courts, though, it’s a bit of a different story. Carlos Alcaraz has lost all three of the most recent hard-court matches against Djokovic, and it’s becoming an issue. The Olympics is also another match that he lost mostly in the head, something that happened at the Australian Open recently as well.

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Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic: The mental aspect of their matchup

2024 Summer Olympics - Day 9 - Source: Getty

One could argue that Novak Djokovic’s style of play bothers Carlos Alcaraz quite a bit. While not completely a correct assertion, it’s perfectly valid. For the Spaniard, it’s mostly in the mental aspect of the game because despite outplaying the Serb in portions of their Australian Open encounter and creating many break points, Alcaraz failed to make the most of them. There were eight in total, and he totally botched them.

In fairness, the Spaniard did save five break points on his own serve, but he simply lacked the resolve he had in previous times. The first time he played Djokovic, Alcaraz was a teenager but played bravely, not caring about the fact that he was playing a 24-time Grand Slam winner. He attacked and never backed down.

However, at the Olympics, Carlos Alcaraz was far more patient, which might be an adaptation to the matchup, but overall, he just seemed to lack that resolve. The same thing happened at the Australian Open recently. He was once again on top of Djokovic for most of the matchup but failed to really push the button when he had his chances.

As the match progressed, Alcaraz started to doubt himself more and more, and it backfired spectacularly as Djokovic was able to roll past him and win the match.

After forcing eight break chances in the opening set, Alcaraz didn’t force a single one in the second set because he lacked the resolve. He lacks what he famously described as his grandfather’s advice - “cojones” - when it really mattered.

That used to be the staple of his game, and it still is, only not when he’s facing Djokovic. He doesn’t have that problem against Alexander Zverev or Jannik Sinner, but once he gets onto the court to face Novak Djokovic, it evaporates. That’s all mental and has nothing to do with physical aspects. The famous cramping episode he had against Djokovic at Roland Garros also came from that.

Both Djokovic and Alcaraz acknowledged that it was mental after the match, and with every match they play, it becomes evident that Alcaraz's seeming obsession with defeating Djokovic has produced counter-effects. Not so much that he lost his tennis magic, but more so that he’s doubting himself more than ever, which removes his greatest strength—fearless tennis.

That’s why he lost at the Olympics and the Australian Open recently, and he’ll keep losing if he doesn’t find a solution. As of now, Alcaraz does have a Novak Djokovic problem, and their head-to-head points to the same, with the tie tilted 5-3 in the Serb's favor.