Carlos Alcaraz issues ominous Novak Djokovic Australian Open prediction

Carlos Alcaraz has predicted that Novak Djokovic will be “really dangerous”. at the 2025 Australian Open after the great Serbian’s difficult 2024 campaign.

The 21-year-old Spaniard believes Djokovic will be “one of the favourites” to win the title in Melbourne if he is “hungry”.

Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in a thrilling final at the Paris Olympics in August, where he claimed his first gold medal and became the first man to win every major tennis prize.

That was the only title Djokovic won this year, losing to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final and to Jannik Sinner in the Shanghai Masters title match.

After losing to Sinner in Shanghai in what was his last competitive match of the season, Djokovic admitted that 2024 was “one of the worst performing seasons in terms of results” of his career.

The 37-year-old withdrew from the Paris Masters and the ATP Finals in Turin after winning both tournaments in an excellent 2023 season. Djokovic won his 24th and most recent Grand Slam title at the 2023 US Open.

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Alcaraz exited the 2024 ATP Finals in the round robin stage after defeats to Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev.

After losing to Zverev in Turin on Friday, Alcaraz was asked what he expects from Djokovic at the Australian Open.

“A really dangerous player (smiles). I mean, he deserves to choose which tournaments he’s going to play,” the world number 3 told reporters.

“We have seen before that it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t play an official match for two, three, four months, because he will come again and he can win the tournament and show a very high level. of tennis.

“So at the Australian Open it depends on how hungry he is. If he goes to Australia hungry, he will be one of the favorites to win Australia. Let’s see.

‘He will certainly be fresh. Lots of time with his family, children, wife. Having time to practice a lot, which is quite good for a tennis player who comes to a tournament motivated.

“He will definitely be a fun player to watch (smiles).”

Alcaraz’s 2024 season is not over yet as he will be at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga next week.