Alcaraz eyes Djokovic downfall in potential Australian Open final

• Alcaraz is hyped for an Australian Open final showdown with Djokovic.
• Djokovic’s Melbourne dominance fuels Alcaraz’s ambition.
• Reaching the final would be a huge leap for Alcaraz.

In two weeks, Carlos Alcaraz will face Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. The Spaniard expressed his excitement about the match on Saturday.

The 20-year-old Djokovic is excited about the chance to defeat the Serb on Rod Laver Arena and win his maiden Australian Open championship. He has won 10 of the previous 10 Melbourne Park finals.

“It’s an extra motivation for me. I’m an ambitious guy. I always want to play against the best players in the world to see what is my level,” Alcaraz told reporters.

“Obviously it’s a good test, playing against him in the tournament where he’s almost unbeaten. I’m looking to reach the final and hopefully playing a final against him. It would be great obviously.

“But, yeah, knowing those stats, it’s an extra motivation, for sure.”

If neither Djokovic nor Alcaraz is eliminated in an earlier round, they will square off in the final on January 28 as the top two seeds.

Alcaraz has never advanced past the third round in his two trips to Melbourne, so making it to the final would be a tremendous improvement.

Due to a hamstring injury, he was sidelined from the competition the previous year, when Djokovic won his tenth championship.

Alcaraz did not participate in any warm-up matches after arriving in Australia without coach Juan Carlos Ferrero.

“I think I’m a guy who doesn’t need so much competition before a big tournament,” he added.

“Obviously (it) always helps (but) I think I’m prepared to do a good things here in the Grand Slam.”

Alcaraz also discussed how he was establishing the foundation of a “new generation” with people like Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune.

Importantly, after defeating Djokovic in the Wimbledon final last year and winning the 2022 U.S. Open, Alcaraz is the only one of the trio to have won a Grand Slam.

“On the court, off the court. I think everybody can be better. Everybody can improve their things. I’m not perfect, so I have to improve a lot of things on the court and off the court, as well,” he said.

“I think this year, it’s going to be a good one,” he added with a smile.

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