Carlos Alcaraz has candidly expressed his feelings on facing Lorenzo Musetti instead of Novak Djokovic at the 2025 ATP Finals after the latter pulled out of the event.
The world No 1 was drawn with Djokovic, Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur in the Jimmy Connors Group at this year’s ATP Finals in Turin.
Djokovic announced he would not compete at the ATP Finals due to a shoulder injury after he defeated Musetti in a pulsating final at the ATP 250 event in Athens the day before the season-ending championships was due to begin.
Carlos Alcaraz addresses Lorenzo Musetti replacing Novak Djokovic at ATP Finals
- Carlos Alcaraz has said facing Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals would have been “tough” as he pointed to the tennis icon’s experience at the event and level on indoor courts
- The 22-year-old admitted he would rather play Musetti than Djokovic as he recalled being “killed” by the Serbian at the 2023 ATP Finals
- Alcaraz added that Musetti “deserves” to be in Turin because of how the Italian has performed this season
A showdown between Alcaraz and Djokovic would arguably have been the pick of the round robin matches, but the Spaniard will instead play Musetti, who took the Serbian’s place in the group.
Alcaraz began his campaign in Turin with a 7-6(6), 6-2 victory over seventh-ranked de Minaur, and he will face Fritz in his second match before concluding his round robin campaign against Musetti.
The six-time major champion is chasing a maiden ATP Finals crown, while he can also clinch the ATP year-end No 1 ranking ahead of Jannik Sinner by winning three matches in Turin.
What Carlos Alcaraz said about Novak Djokovic’s ATP Finals withdrawal
After beating de Minaur, Alcaraz was asked about the difference between having Djokovic and Musetti in his group in Turin.
“Well, obviously someone like Novak being in the group is always tough,” said the Spaniard.
Tennis News
What Lorenzo Musetti said about Novak Djokovic’s last-minute ATP Finals withdrawal
Novak Djokovic season review: How will star reflect on his 2025 campaign?
“The experience he has in this tournament, the level he has on indoor court, it’s quite good. I lost to him in 2023, and I played great. He killed me (smiling).
“To be honest, I prefer Lorenzo. I’m not going to lie (laughs). If he’s there, he deserves it because of the level he has put on the matches, the tournaments he has done this year, and the level he showed this year. It was really, really high.
“Let’s see how he’s going to be, how he’s going to adapt. He’s coming from Athens, and he couldn’t feel the court at all. But I’m sure he’s going to do great and let’s see how it’s going to be.”
Musetti, the world No 9, fell 3-6, 4-6 to sixth-ranked Fritz on his ATP Finals debut on Monday.
What happened when Alcaraz played Djokovic at the 2023 ATP Finals?
Alcaraz, who holds a 4-5 record against Djokovic, referenced his loss to the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the 2023 ATP Finals.
In that match, Djokovic delivered an outstanding display to dismantle Alcaraz 6-3, 6-2 in the semi-finals in Turin.
The Serbian went on to claim a record seventh ATP Finals crown that year as he saw off Sinner 6-3, 6-3 in the final.
READ NEXT: Carlos Alcaraz makes ‘kinda weird’ confession as he responds to Andy Roddick’s ‘darkness’ claim
The post What did Carlos Alcaraz say about impact of Novak Djokovic’s controversial ATP Finals decision? appeared first on Tennis365.
Leave a Reply