There have been many Tennis rivalries between the Pro stars on the court. From Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova and Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles in the Women’s division to Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer in the Men’s singles category, every match between the said ‘fierce’ opponents divided the tennis fanbase into two parts supporting each of their favourite stars. With their prolonged careers, they found new opponents to face, adding young budding stars to their list of ‘rivals’ but even amongst the best of these professionals, very few had been at their top form to stay in contention for titles over two decades – except Novak Djokovic. Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic Head-to-Head Record: Ahead of the Wimbledon 2024 Men's Singles Final, A Look at Who Dominates This Rivalry.

The Serbian star turned pro in 2003 and won his first grand slam in 2008. In these five years span, he played under the ‘Federer vs Nadal’ shadow. But after lifting his first Major title, he regularly advanced to the final eight of every grand slam competition missing out only seven times out of 67 attempts highlighting his consistency in the sport. He joined the Federer-Nadal rivalry and formed the ‘Big-three’ for the first time in the world of tennis. Since Federer’s retirement and Nadal’s limited participation due to injuries, Djokovic went on to win a record 24 Grand Slams – with the least resistance to his dominance. And now faces ‘young challengers’ in Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

Is Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic a new Tennis Rivalry?

Fans argue young players like Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Daniil Medvedev are the future of Men’s Tennis, with the first two possibly forming a rivalry to watch. Yet no one is ready to chalk out Novak Djokovic from the picture. Many talented players like Stan Wawrinka, Patric Rafter, and David Ferer were pushed back during the ‘Big Three’ era, but even in his late thirties, Novak Djokovic refuses to take the back seat and intends to lead the current crop of Tennis stars. Wimbledon 2024: Novak Djokovic Aims To Seek Revenge From Carlos Alcaraz in All England Lawn Tennis Championships Summit Clash.

Current World number 1 Jannik Sinner turned pro in 2018, Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz joined him in the season, while ‘chess master’ Medvedev joined the circuit in 2014. During this period, Djokovic won six Majors between 2014-2017 and from 2018 he won 12 titles and hardly missed out on the final four matchups. Playing in his 37^th Grand Slam final Djokovic exerted his superiority on the tennis world.

But among the above-mentioned challenges, Carlos Alcaraz remained the only tougher opponent to Djokovic. In the last two tennis seasons, both faced each other five times and even though Djokovic won three encounters, Alcaraz proved to be a worthy opponent to him. Both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will play for the Wimbledon title - second time in a row. The match might give fans some idea about the future of ‘Tennis rivalries’.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 14, 2024 11:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).