Carlos Alcaraz indicated he would make “small changes” if he were to meet Novak Djokovic in Doha but also underlined that the rest of the competition was no cakewalk either.
So far in 2025, the Spanish tennis star owns a 9-1 record, having reached the Australian Open quarterfinal and won the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam.
That only loss came against the Serb in Melbourne, when the record 24-time Grand Slam champion came back from a set down to beat the world No. 3 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz© YouTube screenshot
Now, both No. 1 seed Alcaraz and third-seeded Djokovic are set to compete at the ATP 500 tournament in Doha.
For the 37-year-old Serb, it will be his first tournament since he retired his Australian Open semifinal match due to a torn leg muscle.
Since they were placed in the top half of the draw, they could possibly meet in the Qatar Open semifinal.
Alcaraz on what he’d do differently if he faced Djokovic again
“In the end you have to face the best if you want to be among them, so we are going to try to go round by round and give our best until we reach the semi-finals,” the four-time Grand Slam winner told AS.
“He also has to see how he is after the injury, although he has been training very well, we will see how the tournament goes.
“A Grand Slam is different to a 500 and other tournaments, you have to approach it in the same way, perhaps some small changes to things that harmed us.
“But I think the level I played there was good, so above all I have to maintain it.”
Meanwhile, Alcaraz is set to battle against 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the Doha first round.
On the other side, the Serb faces Matteo Berrettini in a rematch of the 2021 Wimbledon final.
Tennis World USA