Djokovic on Alcaraz as world No 1: “I don’t want to go into discussion what if I played less or more, whatever… He deserves it !”

The Serb said he didn’t want to get into any discussions of what he might have been ranked had he been able to play more events in 2022

Zuma / Panoramic

Simon Cambers

November 16, 2022

Nitto ATP Finals •group-stage • completed

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A. RublevvsN. Djokovic

Should Novak Djokovic continue to play the way he has done in his first two matches at the ATP Finals in Turin, the chances are the Serb will finish the year back in the top five.

Considering that he was not allowed to play the Australian Open and US Open, and that his Wimbledon win counted for nothing in terms of ranking points (payback from the Tours for the ban on Russian and Belarusian players), that would be a remarkable achievement.

Such has been the standard of play from Djokovic in Turin that on Wednesday, he was asked whether he rued the fact that he had not been able to play the events he missed, and that had he done so, he might have been No 1 again and not 19-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.

The 35-year-old’s answer was diplomatic.

“He deserves it, no doubt about it,” Djokovic said in Turin. “I don’t want to go into discussion what if I played less or more, whatever. It is what it is. Reality is that he’s No. 1. He deserves to be there. He won a slam. He won many matches in tournaments.

“He’s, I think, a great new face and a player for our sport. He’s a very nice guy. Works very hard. Has a good team of people around him. Represents himself and tennis in a good way. I find only the positive things to say about him.”

Djokovic and Alcaraz — AI / Reuters / Panoramic

Djokovic: “I try to be optimistic and positive in life”

Djokovic said he had grown again as a person in the past year as a result of what he’s been through.

“As far as my season, as I was referring to a little while ago, it was a very unusual season for me. Obviously I missed a lot of big tournaments,” he said.

“But I can say I learned a lot this year about myself, about the world that I live in, and about some people as well who have behaved in a certain way to me in this whole process.

“I’m always thankful to go through experiences, no matter what’s experiences are. I try to be optimistic and positive in life. I look forward to start the new year in Australia, and we’ll see how the next year goes.