Novak Djokovic given no hope as former US Open semi-finalist makes ‘crazy’ claim

Tennis fans react to Carlos Alcaraz's Wimbledon win

Novak Djokovic has been given no chance ahead of the US Open after being told that Carlos Alcaraz can reach a ‘better level’. According to former tennis star Jimmy Arias, Alcaraz is the best player in the world when on his best form. 

Alcaraz overcame Djokovic in a thrilling five-set Wimbledon final last month. The Spaniard secured his second Grand Slam title against his vastly more experienced opponent. 

Still just 20, Alcaraz has proved he can beat the world’s best players on the biggest stage. And Arias believes that the newly-crowned Wimbledon champion can reach a better level than Djokovic. 

It leaves the 23-time Grand Slam champion in a quandary ahead of September’s US Open. He will likely need to overcome reigning champion Alcaraz to have any chance of extending his record haul of majors. 

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“Before the Wimbledon final, a couple people asked me and I said – and this maybe sounds crazy but – he (Alcaraz) at his best level is better than anybody else. He’s better than Djokovic, Djokovic can’t get to the level that Alcaraz [can],” Arias told the Tennis Channel’s Inside-In podcast.

“This is the best level I’ve seen – him at his best. I didn’t know if he was gonna be able to bring it in a Wimbledon final against Djokovic, but I did also know that he’d be more relaxed than he was at the French [Open].

“The French was a strange situation for him because he’s playing a, at the time a 22-time Grand Slam champion, and he’s favourite, by a wide margin. And I thought that was a strange mental hurdle for him.

“In the Wimbledon final, it was the other way. Now Djokovic is favourite and I knew he (Alcaraz) would play relaxed, or I thought he would, but it’s a Wimbledon final.”

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Arias believes Alcaraz has managed to mould the strengths of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. He added: “(On Djokovic) It’s so strange for me to say that the greatest player of all time’s peak isn’t as good as this kid who is 20 years old. 

“But you watch Alcaraz and I don’t know how he’s done it so quickly. He’s sort of taken the ‘Big Three’ and combined all their strengths and put them into himself.

“He has sort of the offensive weapons of Federer, he’s got the heart of Nadal from what we’ve seen. I mean, how does he serve out the final game at Wimbledon, with playing Djokovic? He made every first serve and Djokovic only missed one return and it still didn’t faze him in any way.”

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