Why Carlos Alcaraz woke up to a cheeky text from Novak Djokovic

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Carlos Alcaraz woke up, rolled over and checked his phone. He had a message from Novak Djokovic.

“All right, you have to pay me for the serve,” Djokovic had texted him.

The former world No.1 figured the current best player in the world had copied his serve and joked that he now wanted royalties.

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates during his clash with Tommy Paul.

At the end of last season, Alcaraz started making tweaks to his serve off his own bat – or racquet, as it were – and not at the instigation of a coach. He altered his set-up, hand position and swing and unwittingly found himself becoming a serving Djokovic mini-me.

He might not have noticed the new similarity to Djokovic, but Djokovic did – and he wanted a cut.

After beating American Tommy Paul in straight sets 7-6, 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday, Alcaraz was asked on court if he had paid Djokovic for his serve yet.

“I have got the contract over there, but I haven’t seen him yet,” Alcaraz said.

“It was funny because I wasn’t aware it was similar to Novak’s serve but I woke up and got this message from Novak: ‘All right, you have to pay me for the serve’.”

Alcaraz said the Djokovic’s serve was punishingly difficult to return as it was so hard to read. He was hoping for a similar effect from his remodelled serve.

“I would say he doesn’t hit the fastest serve, but is super accurate. Like, you cannot read it. It’s really, really difficult to read it. It is really close to the lines, and his ball is, like, a sleeper when it touches the ground. As I said, it’s really difficult to see it and to return it.

Alcaraz is yet to win the Australian open title.

“That’s what makes, you know, his serve a really good one ... sometimes you’ve got to go for the precisions more than the speed.”

The difference in serve, he hopes, will also be the difference at this elusive grand slam. For a third successive year now Alcaraz has made the quarter-finals in Melbourne but it remains the one grand slam title he is yet to win.

Pending the outcome of the Alex de Minaur clash with Alexander Bublik on Sunday night, Alcaraz could face the hometown favourite in the quarter-final.

With punishing, 43-degree heat forecast for Tuesday when Alcaraz returns to the court, the Spaniard was phlegmatic about handling the heat.

“You’ve got to get used to everything. I have to control the things that I can control. You know, if it is going to be really, really hot on Tuesday and the roof is going to be closed, I’ve got to accept that and just trying to play my best tennis indoors.

“Whatever it is, I just will be ready. I will be focused. I will try not to think about it. I will try not to affect my game at all, and I think that’s it.

“So that’s going to be my mindset ... we’ve got to show our best tennis in every condition.”

He added that he had not played in Melbourne before with the roof closed.

Alcaraz was authoritative in the key moments against the impressive Paul, who came out hard, breaking Alcaraz in his opening service game and pushing that first set into a tie-break.

“He started pretty strong that first game on my serve. I thought I had played a good game though and I lost.”

It was the start of a marathon first set that stretched to 72 minutes, including a 14-minute hold-up to play during the tie-break for a medical emergency for a spectator in the stands.

Alcaraz always had time. On one critical point he sat at the net under a skied ball. He took his hand off the racquet, wiped his palm on his shorts, blew on his fingers to dry then and took hold of the racquet again and still had time to wait for the ball to land and slam it away.

Alexander Zverev is gunning for his first grand slam title.

Even he smiled at his mid-point sweat work. Not many players take their hand off their racquet and still win a point. But hey, he is the world No.1, albeit one in debt to his predecessor.

Meanwhile, last year’s Australian Open runner-up, Alexander Zverev, stayed on track in his bid for an elusive maiden grand slam title, beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.

The 28-year-old German has lost all three grand slam title clashes he has contested, including last year’s final to Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park, and has flown under the radar this time as he seeks another opportunity.

“I’m very happy with the match and the performance. Really happy to be back in the quarter-finals,” Zverev said on court, dodging a question on whether he is playing his best tennis.

“I don’t want to jinx it, I’ll keep my mouth shut. But you have to play at a high level to reach the quarter-finals. I hope to continue the same way.”

With Reuters

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