Carlos Alcaraz has a huge chance to overtake Novak Djokovic before the US Open

After the Paris Olympics, the professional men’s tour resumes with the American tournaments preceding the US Open. The Masters 1000 in Montreal and Cincinnati will be very useful for the players to get used to the weather and surface conditions ahead of the final Slam of the season (the US Open), which will take place in New York at the end of August.

Due to the Olympic tournament, many players decided to skip the Canadian tournament. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are not in Montreal to recharge their batteries after the beautiful final in Paris. The 37-year-old from Belgrade – who has fulfilled his dream of winning the gold medal – has announced that he will not even participate in the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati.

Novak Djokovic, Cincinnati 2023© Matthew Stockman / Staff – Getty Images Sport

The 24-time Grand Slam champion – who won last year in Ohio beating Carlitos in the final – needs to regain his energy and rest his knee at this moment. The former world number 1 will be in New York without playing any preparation tournaments, a risk that could be dangerous in best of five-set matches.

Alcaraz – instead – has been spotted in Mallorca these days while he is enjoying a few days of vacation together with his brother Alvaro and a couple of friends. The four-time Grand Slam champion – after having cleared his disappointment at the Paris Olympics – should be regularly on the court in Cincinnati before the US Open.

Nole skips Cincinnati

Novak Djokovic’s absence from the Cincinnati Masters 1000 could have interesting repercussions on the ATP ranking before the US Open. The Serbian champion will not defend his 1,000 points won in Ohio last year, giving a huge chance to Carlos Alcaraz. If the Spaniard reaches at least the quarterfinals in Cincinnati, he will become number 2 in the world.

Carlos Alcaraz & Novak Djokovic, Cincinnati 2023© Matthew Stockman / Staff – Getty Images Sport

This would mean that the 21-year-old from Murcia would be guaranteed not to face Jannik Sinner before the final at the 2024 US Open. Alcaraz will have to be good at overcoming the Olympic disappointment, in which he was the main favorite to win the gold medal.

Speaking with El Pais, Toni Nadal commented on the Olympic final: “The images of Carlos crying on the court with clear signs of grief and frustration have left us with a bitter feeling, but they must not make us think that this is a defeat. He lost a match that could have been in his favour, giving his best at all times, fighting until the last ball as we know he usually does, and holding in suspense an entire country that enjoyed watching him for his great tennis and his passion. His silver medal against the best tennis player in history deserves, without a doubt, all our admiration.”

Carlitos can go back to No.2

The former world number 1 was less good than Novak Djokovic in the decisive moments: “They are different conditions, different surfaces, and it’s not the same playing individually as representing your country in the Olympic Games. It’s a whole set of things completely different from what we had in Wimbledon in London. I leave content, with my head held high for the match I played, I fought until the end. I tried to find solutions. It was a very tight match. In crucial moments, I couldn’t capitalize on the opportunities I had, and Novak played at a very high level.

In the tiebreaks, in the break points against me, he raised his level when I couldn’t. That’s how tight matches are decided. I believe I played at a very high level; now I need to learn to be more precise in those moments for the future. When you miss opportunities against a player like Novak, it comes back to haunt you.

“Once they hung the medal on me at the podium, that’s when I started to think: ‘Well, this moment must be valued, this moment must be enjoyed because in the end you don’t know if you will experience that moment again, if you will be able to be in that situation again.’ In four years, many things can happen. Hopefully, we can compete in Los Angeles, but no one knows, so you have to enjoy the moment and, above all, the silver medal.”

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic© Getty Images Sport – Matthew Stockman

Despite the disappointment at the Paris Olympics, Alcaraz is playing a great season. The young Spaniard has won two Grand Slam titles and a Masters 1000 this year, becoming the youngest ever to win the French Open and the Wimbledon Championships in the same year. Carlitos will also try to win the US Open, where he won his first Major in 2022. Last year, the Spaniard was defeated by Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal in New York.