Carlos Alcaraz was excited to see Novak Djokovic in the same side of the draw at the 2025 Miami Open.
Djokovic is the most successful tennis player in the history of the sport. He managed to win 99 titles, 24 of which were Grand Slams. Most tennis players would be afraid of seeing the legendary Serbian on the other side of the net, but not Alcaraz.
The young Spaniard often speaks about how he wants to challenge the best players in the world, and that’s why he was excited to see Djokovic on the same side of the draw in Miami.
Alcaraz is the second seed, which means that he is on line 128 of the draw, the last line. Djokovic is the fourth seed, and his name could have landed either in the top part or in the bottom part of the draw.
Had the 37-year-old Serbian landed in the top part, his potential semi-final opponent would have been the top-seeded Alexander Zverev. However, the draw made sure that a potential blockbuster with Alcaraz could happen already in the semi-finals.
Djokovic has been the more successful player of the two in their rivalry so far. He beat the Spanish player five times in eight matches, most recently in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Despite this, Alcaraz can’t wait to take on Djokovic again.
“We’re on the same side of the draw, hopefully we’ll both reach the semi-finals. As I said before, these are the matches that attract tennis fans because I think every time we play it’s fun to watch.”
For Alcaraz, it’s important to play such big matches. The Spaniard has been open about trying to inspire future generations, and he knows that such matches will help him to achieve that goal.
“I’m very happy to be one of the players that leads people to start playing tennis and to want to watch tennis matches for the first time. That’s what I try to do, to have a style or a type of tennis that people like. I don’t just play for myself and for my people, I also play so that the fans are entertained. It makes me happy to be a player who contributes to tennis in that way.”
Despite really wanting to challenge Djokovic in the semi-final of the tournament, Alcaraz is aware of the journey ahead of him. First, the Spaniard will have to navigate his second-round match against David Goffin and then also the matches in the following rounds.
“In the end, this is a Masters 1000. There are still too many rounds to be thinking about the semis. And from the second round, there are already matches that are really fun to watch and tough to play.”
“We’ll see what happens in the tournament on those days. Of course, if you want to win the tournament you have to beat the best players, like Djokovic. We’ll try and be in that position.”
