Carlos Alcaraz reveals what Novak Djokovic told him at the net as he vows 'to be better than Djokovic'

Carlos Alcaraz says Novak Djokovic “deserves to live this moment” after the tennis great finally completed his career Golden Slam, but the Spaniard says he has the “ambition to be better than Djokovic”.

Just weeks after Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in straight sets in the Wimbledon final to win his fourth Grand Slam, the two squared off again in the Paris Olympics gold medal match at Roland Garros.

This time it was the 37-year-old legend who got the better of the 21-year-old as Djokovic won via two tie-breakers.

There were emotional scenes on both sides of the net with Djokovic crying tears of joy as he became only the fifth player to win the career Golden Slam while Alcaraz was disappointed that he couldn’t win gold for his country.

“I wanted gold and losing is never pleasant, but I’m leaving with my head held high,” the Spaniard told Eurosport. “I fought until the last ball. I gave it my all.

“When you lose like that, you leave the court proud. Djokovic wanted to win gold even more than I did and he deserved the victory.

“My tears were because I thought I couldn’t achieve the goal of all the Spaniards, including mine, of making them feel proud for gold. But seen from another perspective, winning an Olympic medal is never easy.”

There was a brief exchange between the two players at the net after the match and Alcaraz explained what the 24-time Grand Slam winner told him.

“He is enjoying his moment and I couldn’t exchange many words,” he said. “At the net he told me that I will win gold one day and I’m going to work for it. My moment will come.

“He deserves to live this moment with his family. His tears indicate that he was really looking forward to it.”

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Sunday’s match was the seventh clash between the two with Djokovic now leading their head-to-head 4-3 and while many referenced their recent Wimbledon clash, Alcaraz felt it was similar to the 2023 Cincinnati Open final where the Serbian won in three titanic sets with the match taking nearly four hours to complete.

But it is matches like these that make Alcaraz determined to become better than Djokovic.

“It reminds me more of the one I lost in Cincinnati, where I had my chances and it was a great battle,” he said.

“All the matches against him are great battles and it is a spectacle for more people to watch tennis. These matches make you a better player and a better person. I will work with ambition to be better than Djokovic.”

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