WATCH: Novak Djokovic & Carlos Alcaraz joke about golf, practice together at Paris Masters

Carlos Alcaraz (L) and Novak Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz (L) and Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz recently squared off against each other for a practice session at the 2023 Paris Masters.

Djokovic will lead the top half as the first seed, and Alcaraz will spearhead the bottom half as the second seed in the main draw.

The Serb will chase a seventh Masters 1000 title in Paris, whereas the Spaniard eyes a maiden glory. Alcaraz was not among the probables to compete at the event owing to injury woes following the Shanghai Masters run. However, he made the last-minute call and confirmed a third appearance.

In 2021, Alcaraz went as far as the pre-quarterfinals with wins over Jannik Sinner and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. He bowed out of the tournament after losing to Hugo Gatson.

Last year, the 20-year-old bettered his 2021 performance and made it to the quarterfinals stage. He defeated Grigor Dimitrov and Yoshihito Nishioka in earlier rounds to set up the last-eight clash with Holger Rune. He lost the opening set cheaply and withdrew from the match at 6-6 in the second set, handing his opponent a win.

Rune went on to lift the Paris Masters trophy after winning the final against Novak Djokovic, who currently leads the all-time winners' tally with six triumphs. The Serb has twice as many titles as Boris Becker and Marat Safin, tied for second place.

Having received byes in their opening-round matches already, the duo held a joint practice session on Sunday, October 29. The session began on a lighter note, with Alcaraz using his racket as a golf club.

"How's your putting?" he was heard asking the World No. 1.

The videos of their time together can be watched below.


Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz on level terms in head-to-head tally

Day Fourteen: Wimbledon 2023
Day Fourteen: Wimbledon 2023

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have played each other four times, with the head-to-head in balance at 2-2 as of now. Interestingly, two of those encounters have been semifinal clashes and the other two finals.

The duo faced each other for the first time at the Madrid Open semifinals last year. The three-setter witnessed two tiebreaks before Alcaraz edged past. The Serb avenged his loss in their next meeting, which came at the French Open this year.

Alcaraz scored one more over the Serb at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in July. Despite losing the first set in a flash, he staged an epic comeback to hand Djokovic his first loss at Centre Court in over ten years.

The duo later met at the Cincinnati Masters final, where the World No. 1 emerged victorious to level the head-to-head 2-2.

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Edited by Shamik Banerjee
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