"Carlos Alcaraz is playing crazy aggressive" - Alex Molcan on facing the Spaniard as compared to Novak Djokovic

Alex Molcan compared his experiences of playing against Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic and believes Alcaraz's ultra-aggressive style of play sets him apart.

While Molcan believes both players have the ability to chase down any shot and are similar in terms of pace and fitness, he stressed that they are different on most other counts.

The Slovakian, who is currently the World No. 50, has faced Djokovic twice in his career - at the 2021 Belgrade Open 2 and 2022 French Open. On the other hand, he has only played Alcaraz once, at the 2022 Hamburg Open. He is yet to take a set off either player.

While Djokovic and Alcaraz are both incredible runners, Molcan feels Alcaraz is quite ruthless as even a relatively shorter ball to his forehand is enough for the Spaniard to finish the point. Molcan had a "really tough" time in a 7-6(2), 6-1 loss to the current World No. 1.

"Alcaraz is playing so fast, it's incredible," Alex Molcan recently said on the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast. "He's playing crazy aggressive. He's fit, he runs, he catches everything. Also Djokovic, he is also running incredibly. But they are different players."

"With Alcaraz, it was a tough match actually, it was really tough. Once you hit a short ball to his forehand, it's probably over. So that's different," he added.

Meanwhile, Djokovic is among the players Molcan admires the most. Facing the Serbian great on the iconic Court Suzanne Lenglen at the French Open presented a different challenge as it was a "stressful" experience for the 25-year-old.

"But Djokovic, when I was playing against him in Roland Garros, I was a little bit stressed. It was on Suzanne Lenglen, you know," Molcan said.

At the same time, facing Djokovic, whose former coach Marian Vajda is currently coaching Molcan, was a career-changing experience for Molcan.

"I'm a lucky guy to have Djokovic on the tour" - Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic share an embrace after their 2022 Mutua Madrid Open semi-final.

Carlos Alcaraz recently expressed his delight after hearing that Novak Djokovic will return to the Australian Open next month. The Spaniard said that he wants to see the Serbian great play in every tournament and that the presence of the best players is crucial to the biggest tournaments on tour.

Alcaraz called himself "lucky" to be active on tour at the same time as Djokovic, further hinting that the Serb is the "best player in the world" in his opinion.

"Tennis is better having the best players in the world, and for the fans as well it's good to see a tournament with the best players," Carlos Alcaraz said in a recent press conference.

"Talking for me, I want to see Novak play in every tournament. I always said that if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best player in the world. I'm a lucky guy to have Djokovic on the tour," he added.

The duo have faced off only once so far, with Carlos Alcaraz winning their epic 2022 Madrid Open semi-final in three sets, en route to his second Masters 1000 title. He also became only the first player to reach a claycourt final after beating Rafael Nadal and Djokovic in consecutive matches.