“Hopefully 24, but…” – Alcaraz sets his sights on Djokovic’s record
Carlos Alcaraz verbalised his desire to chase down Djokovic’s record of 24 Grand Slam titles
Laurent Luyat, Patrick Mouratoglou and Carlos Alcaraz, Roland-Garros 2024 | © Tennis Majors / Virginie Bouyer
In many ways, it’s the elephant in the room. Novak Djokovic’s 24 Grand Slams. Carlos Alcaraz only has three, and yet, there are whispers already of how many he’ll be able to achieve across his career if he stays fit, healthy and motivated.
Speaking after his Roland-Garros victory, the 21-year-old broached the subject for the first, if ever so tentatively.
“I don’t know. I hope so,” said Alcaraz, when asked whether he believes he can chase down Djokovic’s record.
“I talked to Juan Carlos [Ferrero] a few days ago that — well, it was just yesterday, actually. Before facing this final, he told me, you’re going to fight for your third Grand Slam title, with everything you have been through, and you know the difficult part of winning a Grand Slam, and Djoko has 24. So it is unbelievable.
“Right now I can’t think about it. I just want to keep going, and let’s see how many Grand Slam I’m gonna take at the end of my career.
“Hopefully reach the 24, but right now I’m going to enjoy my third one, and let’s see in the future.”
Alcaraz’s first challenge is ensuring that Djokovic doesn’t extend his record any further, with the Serbian currently recovering from knee surgery ahead of the year’s remaining two majors.
