Novak Djokovic sends word of caution to Carlos Alcaraz over 'thinking about history'

Novak Djokovic recently gave his thoughts on Carlos Alcaraz's bid for greatness. The Serb believes that while the young Spaniard has already shown a lot of promise at 21, he might want to slow down before making lofty promises to himself.

Alcaraz enjoyed a remarkable season on the ATP Tour last year, winning four titles - two of which came at the French Open and Wimbledon. However, he fell two spots from his World No. 1 position to No. 3 in the year-end rankings, leading to concerns over his consistency.

That said, Alcaraz didn't shy away from expressing his positive aspirations last year when he said that he wanted to be "a part of tennis history". He also spoke of the 24-time Major winner's career accolades as a reference point.

"I know it is almost impossible to break Novak's records but I’m playing tennis for myself, for joy and I want to do great things," Carlos Alcaraz said last year (via BBC Sport). "I want to be a part of tennis history."

Against that background, Novak Djokovic expressed his views on the Spaniard's ambitious attitude while speaking to GQ. The 37-year-old began by giving props to the World No. 3, predicting that he will likely complete the Career Grand Slam at some point in his career.

However, he did concede in the same breath that Alcaraz may be out of turn to think about his place in tennis history already.

"Carlos has done something no one has done in history for such a young age. So the odds are with him. He is going to complete his [career] Slam very soon," Novak Djokovic told GQ. "He’s even said himself, he wants to make history. He wants to be ‘the best in history.' I respect that kind of mentality of ‘Hey, I think I got the goods.' But maybe it’s a little bit early for him to think about history."

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Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic projected to meet in the quarterfinals of Australian Open 2025

Carlos Alcaraz lost to Novak Djokovic in their most recent meeting at the 2024 Olympics (Image via Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are all set to renew their rivalry at the 2025 Australian Open. The Spaniard and the Serb find themselves sharing the same quarter, meaning that only one of them will reach the semifinals in Melbourne.

Alcaraz will have to be at his best to outgun the 24-time Major winner if they meet in the last eight. He trails Djokovic by a slight margin of 3-4 in their head-to-head meetings on the ATP Tour, giving the 37-year-old considerable odds of winning their prospective match.