Andy Murray explains Carlos Alcaraz failure as Novak Djokovic aims for history

Andy Murray has given his assessment on why Carlos Alcaraz was unable to beat Novak Djokovic at the French Open. The world No 1 started cramping in the third set of their semi-final and quickly faded away. It leaves Djokovic one match away from a record 23rd men’s singles Grand Slam title. And Murray is backing his old rival to rewrite history.

Djokovic will contest his seventh French Open final on Sunday as he bids to become the most decorated man at Grand Slam level. The world No 3 advanced with a 6-3 5-7 6-1 6-1 victory over top seed Alcaraz in what was a long-anticipated match.

But after two hours of high-intensity tennis, the cramps set in for Alcaraz who forfeited a game at 1-1 in the third to receive treatment. He won just one more game as Djokovic earned his first win over the 20-year-old in two meetings, and Murray has now given his assessment of the match.

“I didn’t watch the match, but the fact Alcaraz cramped suggests he was feeling some of the nerves which was completely understandable in that situation,” the world No 43 said. Murray – who lost to Djokovic in his only French Open final in 2016 – is now backing the Serb to break the record.

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He continued: “That was Novak’s 45th Grand Slam semi-final which is incredible numbers. It would be amazing to see him do it on Sunday. I’ll be supporting him, I hope he can do it because it’s incredible what he’s done.”

Murray opted to skip the French Open this year to have more time on the grass ahead of Wimbledon. And his decision has already paid off as he will be contesting his own final on Sunday – at the Surbiton Challenger.

While the 36-year-old made the right choice for his Wimbledon hopes, he admitted that he wanted to be back in the latter stages of the big events after watching Casper Ruud face Holger Rune in the Roland Garros quarter-final.

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“I was watching Rune v Ruud match the other night, and like playing quarter-finals or semi-finals of the French Open is something that I did regularly,” he added.

“I loved playing in those matches, in full stadiums like that. Obviously when I get the opportunity to, like at the Australian Open or Wimbledon, I’ve really enjoyed those occasions. I would like to be playing in the latter stages of those events more.”

Murray will be hoping to do just that at the All England Club next month. A two-time champion at Wimbledon, the Brit has made it no secret that he wants to have a deep run at his home tournament. And he is already proving his grass-court prowess a few miles away in Surbiton.

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