"Novak Djokovic wore Carlos Alcaraz down physically" - Second set of French Open SF picked as one of the key moments of 2023 by Todd Woodbridge

The second set of the semifinal clash between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz was one of the key moments of the year 2023, according to Australian former tennis player Todd Woodbridge.

The Roland Garros tie in June 2023 was the second time Djokovic and Alcaraz faced each other. Their first match at the 2022 Madrid Open had gone the Spaniard's way.

The Serb defeated Alcaraz 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the final four clash before lifting the La Coupe des Mousquetaires (The Musketeers' Trophy) in Paris. Alcaraz was unable to compete at his best as he suffered from cramps the second set onwards.

Former doubles No. 1 Todd Woodbridge spoke along the same lines as he picked the second set of the match as one of the best of 2023 during his recent appearance at The AO Show podcast.

"One of the best sets and key moments of the year was the second set of the French Open semis between Alcaraz and Djokovic. Novak's absolute resilience to hang in, I mean, he didn't win that set, Alcaraz won the set, but Novak wore him down physically and then went on to win at Roland Garros," Woodbridge said.

Woodbridge also showered praise on Carlos Alcaraz for his victory over Djokovic in the Wimbledon final on July 16. He said:

"But then the next time they played, just four weeks later in the Wimbledon final, which was about 'How does Alcaraz handle the defeat, the disappointment of Roland Garros?' and we got to see how he handled it, he came out and played one of the best matches of his life to become Wimbledon champion."

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"Novak Djokovic had his moments" - The Serb allowed Carlos Alcaraz to stay afloat in the Wimbledon final, says Todd Woodbridge

Day Fourteen: The Championships - Wimbledon 2023

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Novak Djokovic 1-6, 7-6(6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 in the 2023 Wimbledon final to lift the second Grand Slam trophy of his career. During the same interview, Todd Woodbridge said it was the Serb who let his guard down in the second set.

"But we also saw what I thought was going to be a changing of the guard. Novak had his moments to go up two sets to love, made a couple of unforced errors that we don't see and let Alcaraz in. Then the quality of tennis that they played was fascinating and extraordinary," Woodbridge said.

Woodbridge added:

"What I loved about the fifth set from Alcaraz was his ‘I'm not scared’. He played. He played this really free tennis that was aggressive. He didn't back off. And even when he served for the match, he played a couple of really poor, nervous points to start and then turned it straight around to serve the match out."