{"id":20914,"date":"2025-01-21T03:02:19","date_gmt":"2025-01-21T03:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20914"},"modified":"2025-01-21T03:02:19","modified_gmt":"2025-01-21T03:02:19","slug":"djokovic-reminded-of-nadal-ahead-of-blockbuster-australian-open-clash-vs-alcaraz-2-uneven-encounters-between-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20914","title":{"rendered":"Djokovic \u2018reminded of Nadal\u2019 ahead of blockbuster Australian Open clash vs Alcaraz: \u20182 uneven encounters between us\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of his blockbuster showdown vs Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic compared the young Spaniard to Rafael Nadal.<\/h2>\n
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Novak Djokovic\u00a0downed Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round of the ongoing Australian Open 2024, to set-up a mouthwatering blockbuster quarter-final clash with arch-rival\u00a0Carlos Alcaraz. The Serbian was dominant on Sunday in Melbourne as he cruised past Lehecka in the first and second sets. But then the Czech ace tried to make a comeback in the third set, and the crowd joined him in support.<\/p>\n

\"Novak<\/picture>
Novak Djokovic compared Carlos Alcaraz to Rafael Nadal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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But to Djokovic\u2019s frustration, the Rod Laver Arena spectators began to annoy and distract him, especially when he would serve, that even the chair umpire had to intervene.<\/p>\n

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\u2018They remind me of my duels against Rafael Nadal\u2019: Novak Djokovic<\/h2>\n

Speaking ahead of the highly-anticipated quarter-final showdown, Djokovic compared his encounters with Alcaraz to Rafael Nadal, who announced his retirement last year. Alcaraz is considered to be Nadal\u2019s successor in Spain and world tennis.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike most of our matches, I hope Carlos and I can embrace a great battle. There have been only two uneven encounters between us. I played well against him at the 2023 ATP Finals, and he responded in last year’s Wimbledon final,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other matches were long and exhausting. They remind me of my duels against Rafa Nadal regarding the intensity and energy we bring to the court,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz has faced Djokovic seven times, and the Spaniard trails 3-4. All seven of their encounters have happened in semi-finals or finals of ATP Tour and Olympics.<\/p>\n

They first met at the 2022 Madrid Masters semi-finals, where Alcaraz reigned supreme in a deciding set tiebreaker. Then they met again in the semi-finals of the 2023 French Open, where Djokovic won in four sets and Alcaraz fell victim to cramps.<\/p>\n

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Their next meeting was the 2023 Wimbledon final clash, in which Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in a five-setter. They met again at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters final, with the Serbian winning. In 2024, they met in two finals, with Alcaraz coming out on top at Wimbledon and Djokovic winning at Paris 2024.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ahead of his blockbuster showdown vs Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic compared the young Spaniard to Rafael Nadal. Novak Djokovic\u00a0downed Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round of the… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tennis"],"yoast_head":"\nDjokovic \u2018reminded of Nadal\u2019 ahead of blockbuster Australian Open clash vs Alcaraz: \u20182 uneven encounters between us\u2019 - 24\/7 News America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usatoday.azontree.com\/?p=20914\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Djokovic \u2018reminded of Nadal\u2019 ahead of blockbuster Australian Open clash vs Alcaraz: \u20182 uneven encounters between us\u2019 - 24\/7 News America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ahead of his blockbuster showdown vs Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic compared the young Spaniard to Rafael Nadal. 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