Alcaraz facing threats to his rivalry with Djokovic as two stars muscling in

Carlos Alcaraz could soon find some other players intruding into his rivalry with Novak Djokovic after suffering tough losses to Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner in his last two tournaments. Alcaraz and Djokovic faced off at three big events this year and were the only men to win Grand Slam titles. But Medvedev and Sinner can threaten their dominance at the last few tournaments remaining in the 2023 season. 

Alcaraz and Djokovic continued their rivalry this year, facing off on three occasions – the French Open semi-final and the finals of Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Masters. The pair have been the clear favourites going into every tournament they played, but the gap between them and the rest of the field is starting to narrow following the Spaniard’s recent defeats.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion appeared to be the only man that could challenge Alcaraz over the summer, beating him in Paris and Cincinnati. Since then, Medvedev stunned the 20-year-old in the US Open semi-final and Sinner ousted him in Beijing, with Alcaraz admitting that he got too angry and let the second set run away from him.

With Djokovic not playing the Asian swing, it means that Alcaraz is no longer the clear-cut favourite at the Shanghai Masters, with in-form Medvedev and Sinner also right up there as title contenders and as threats to the Spaniard’s hopes. And when Djokovic does return at the Paris Masters, it means that the world Nos 3 and 4 could also join Alcaraz in challenging the 36-year-old for the title.

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Sinner himself has already confessed that he took a lot of confidence from beating Alcaraz and Medvedev back-to-back to win this week’s China Open. “When you beat these types of players you feel great, it’s clear,” the new world No 4 said.

“Except for Novak, practically all of the best players in the world have been part of the draw. It has been a very high-level tournament. At the beginning of the week I was very happy. At the same time, it is a pleasure and a privilege to participate here. Beating Carlos gave me a lot of confidence going into this final. Carlos and Daniil are two totally different players, so I had to adjust some things, I think that was the key.”

Medvedev will also be hoping to carry his momentum into the rest of the season after reaching back-to-back finals at the US Open and the China Open. After losing to Djokovic in Flushing Meadows, he will be hoping to get some revenge at the Paris Masters or the ATP Finals if they meet at the last two events of the season.

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And the world No 3 had also been eager to meet Alcaraz in the Beijing final to back up his recent victory over the Spaniard in New York. The pair could still meet in the Shanghai Masters final if they both make it there next weekend. “We played with Carlos three times this year,” Medvedev said before Sinner beat Alcaraz in the China Open semi-final.

“The last one was the last tournament and I managed to play amazing. He has proven to be the number one or number two player in the world this year. If you want to beat him, you must play your best. That’s what I managed to do at the US Open. It is always a great challenge. He’s the kind of player you think, ‘He’s fine, maybe he’ll have a bad day and play a little worse,’ and I couldn’t play as well as he can and still win.”

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