Djokovic vs Alcaraz: Head-to-head, stats, everything you need to know – updated after Paris 2024 Olympic final

How many times have Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz played each other?

Seven. Djokovic currently leads the head-to-head 4-3. In May 2022, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz stepped on to the clay of Madrid to face each other for the first time on the ATP Tour.

Alcaraz earned victory there, in a third-set tiebreak but the Serbian gained revenge when he defeated Alcaraz in four sets at Roland-Garros in 2023, in the semi-finals. It was a devastating defeat for the Spaniard, who started cramping after the second set and went quietly in the third and fourth sets.

Alcaraz moves ahead at Wimbledon

Alcaraz would rise to the challenge a month later at Wimbledon, however. The Spaniard defeated Djokovic in a five-set final, 16 76(6) 61 36 64, to win his second major title and his first at Wimbledon. By doing so he also denied Djokovic an eighth Wimbledon title (a theme we will revisit down the page).

The Cincy epic

The pair’s next meeting came in the Cincinnati final in 2023, where Djokovic outlasted the Spaniard 57 76(7) 76(4) to even the head-to-head at two apiece.

“This was one of the exciting matches I’ve ever played in any tournament,” Djokovic, who saved a champoinship point in the second set, later said. “It felt like a Grand Slam.”

The pair met for the fifth time at the ATP Finals in Turin, with Djokovic cruising to a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

2024 – Alcaraz takes the power back

The pair next faced off at Wimbledon in 2024. Meeting in the final for the second consecutive year, again it was Alcaraz who scored an impressive victory. The Spaniard defeated Djokovic 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(4) to successfully defend his Wimbledon title and once again leave Djokovic stranded at seven Wimbledon title – one short of Roger Federer’s Open Era record for men’s singles titles at the Championships.

It was an important win for Alcaraz, who improved to 4-0 in major finals and became the sixth Open Era player to win men’s singles titles Roland-Garros and Wimbledon in the same season.

He improved his lifetime record against Djokovic to 3-3 with the win, and 2-1 against the Serbian legend at the majors.

2024 Paris olympic games – Djokovc wins gold medal

In the final of the men’s singles at the 2024 Olympic Games, Djokovic again reasserted his dominance over Alcaraz, beating the Spaniard 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in a match of breathtaking quality to clinch his first Olympic gold mean – a lifelong ambition for the Serb.

With only a small number of matches, plenty of intrigue remains around the head-to-head between what are two of the world’s best players in men’s tennis right now. Djokovic is the incumbent, the all-time Grand Slam record holder, most prolific record-breaker in tennis, while Alcaraz is the young up-and-comer, who has already held the world No 1 ranking and has been charting new territory at 21 years old.

Read on for everything there is to know about Djokovic vs Alcaraz, as we investigate this budding rivalry.

How many titles for Djokovic and Alcaraz?

What’s fascinating about the Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry is the different stage of career both players are at. Djokovic has been on the ATP Tour for the better part of two decades, while Alcaraz is barely in his third full year on Tour.

This difference in career stage leads to a significant disparity in titles between Djokovic and Alcaraz.

Novak Djokovic has won 98 titles in his career, including:

• Grand Slams: 24
• ATP Finals: 7
• Masters 1000s: 40
• ATP 500s: 14
• ATP 250: 13

Carlos Alcaraz has won 15 titles in his career, including:

• Grand Slams: 4
• ATP Finals: 0
• Masters 1000s: 5
• ATP 500s: 4
• ATP 250s: 2

Who is better between Djokovic and Alcaraz at the same age?

A more relevant and fair measure of understanding the Djokovic vs Alcaraz head-to-head is by looking at how their careers have tracked age-wise. Is Alcaraz better than Djokovic was at the same age?

Purely based on titles and ranking, Carlos Alcaraz is better than Novak Djokovic was at the same age.

Right now, Novak Djokovic is 37 years old, while Carlos Alcaraz is 21 years old. There is a 16-year age gap between the two players.

When Djokovic was 20 years old, he had claimed 10 titles in his career. This included one Grand Slam victory, at the 2008 Australian Open, as well as four Masters 1000 titles, one ATP 500 and four ATP 250 events. His highest ranking as a 20-year-old was world No 3.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, has three more titles than Djokovic did at the same age. Of his 15 titles, he also has a higher proportion of ATP 500s, compared to ATP 250s, plus four Grand Slams. As well as this, Alcaraz finished as the year-end world No 1 when he was only 19 years old, something that Djokovic was unable to achieve until he was 24 years old.

Djokovic vs Alcaraz: Who has the best stats?

Looking at the Djokovic vs Alcaraz stats, again, the comparison is difficult to make because of the different stage these players are at in their careers.

Novak Djokovic has a career win-loss ratio of 1110 – 220, winning 83.5% of the time he steps on the court. This figure is even higher at Grand Slams, with Djokovic winning 88.23% of his matches, for a 375 50 lifetime record at Majors.

Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, has a win-loss ratio of 188- 49 across the course of his short career. This is a 79% winning percentage, while at Grand Slams he is slightly better (a 59-10 record at 85.5%).

What is the best match between Djokovic vs Alcaraz?

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have played seven matches across their careers, with Djokovic leading 4-3.

Carlos Alcaraz upset Novak Djokovic in a five-set epic in the 2023 Wimbledon final to take a 2-1 lead in their lifetime head-to-head in July, before Djokovic drew level once again by winning the final in Cincinnati.

Djokovic then moved one ahead by beating Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the 2023 ATP Finals before Alcaraz levelled with a second straight Wimbledon title.

2024 Paris olympic final – Djokovc wins 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2)

In the final of the men’s singles at the 2024 Olympic Games, Djokovic again reasserted his dominance over Alcaraz, beating the Spaniard 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2) in a match of breathtaking quality to clinch his first Olympic gold mean – a lifelong ambition for the Serb.

2023 ATP Finals semi-final: Djokovic wins 6-3, 6-2

Djokovic produced a masterclass to deliver the most one-sided win in the pair’s rivalry to date, beating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-2 with a break in the first set and two in the second,

2023 Cincinnati final: Djokovic wins 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4)

Djokovic beat Alcaraz in one of the matches of the year in the final of Cincinnati 2023.

The Serb looked down and out as he was severely struggling physically in the harsh humidity of the Midwest heat, facing a set-and-a-break deficit.

However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion turned things around yet again in quite extraordinary fashion to win a thee-set match pushing four hours.

The final set was one of the best on tour in recent years, with the young Spaniard saving four championship points before Djokovic was finally able to clinch the tiebreak to win his 39th Masters 1000 title.

2023 Wimbledon final: Alcaraz wins 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4

Alcaraz claimed a thrilling 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 over Djokovic to earn his first Wimbledon title and his second Grand Slam title. It was the pair’s first final.

Djokovic was bidding for his eighth Wimbledon title and 24th major title, but fell short as Alcaraz snapped the Serbian’s 15-match Grand Slam tiebreak winning streak in the second set, then hit 18 winners in a dazzling fifth set to wrestle the match from the 36-year-old.

Two champions that treated us to an all-time classic ✨

Thank you, @DjokerNole and @carlosalcaraz 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/P3SAca0gET

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023

2022 Madrid: Alcaraz wins 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5)

Their first match came in Madrid in 2022, where an 18-year-old Alcaraz was on the hottest streak of his career so far.

The Spaniard had already beaten Nikoloz Basilashvili, Cam Norrie and Rafael Nadal to make the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid, requiring three sets to navigate his round of 16 and quarter-final matches. Djokovic, on the other hand, had cruised through his section of the draw, thumping Gael Monfils and Hubert Hurkacz, with a walkover in between.

What unfolded in the semi-final was a match for the ages. Djokovic took the set in a tight tiebreak, before the 18-year-old tore back into contention with a gritty 7-5 second set. In the decider, Alcaraz played fearless tennis to force a tiebreak, coming up with the goods when it counted to win the match 7-6 (5) in the third.

The calibre of tennis was unreal from both—Alcaraz struck 51 winners with only five unforced errors, while Djokovic pummelled 29 winners to two unforced errors.

2023 Roland-Garros: Djokovic wins 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1

In what was perhaps the most anticipated tennis match of the past five years, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz met in the 2023 Roland-Garros semi-finals, after a year of barely playing in the same draw.

The pair picked up where they left off, trading two high-quality opening sets that lasted the better part of two hours and had some breath-taking shot-making.

With the match level at 1-1 and the third set beginning, fans were strapping themselves in for a five-hour epic. That is, until Carlos Alcaraz’s body gave way. That’s right—the 20-year-old was the first to falter physically, with the 36-year-old Novak Djokovic winning the physical battle. Unfortunately for neutral fans, Alcaraz began to experience severe body cramps, causing Djokovic to run away with the match 6-1, 6-1 in the remaining two sets.

Alcaraz himself confessed after the match that his cramps were less due to a lack of physical conditioning, and more due to nerves and stress, courtesy of the occasion and the player across the net.