Sam Querrey has explained what Carlos Alcaraz did in the French Open final that reminded him of Novak Djokovic.
It is always an honour to be compared to a man of the 39-year-old’s stature, given he is one of the most decorated tennis players ever.
A 24-time Grand Slam champion, and still competing at the very apex of the sport even today, he has left a shining example for generations of fans.
Carlos Alcaraz is one such example, who grew up in the shadow of Novak Djokovic’s dominance alongside Roger Federer and his hero Rafael Nadal.
However, to earn any comparison to this trio will leave the 22-year-old beaming.
Carlos Alcaraz was shades of Novak Djokovic in French Open final
Seeking to dissect the match live on TNT Sports, Querrey spoke alongside Patrick and John McEnroe and Jim Courier with intelligence and measure.
And, whilst outlining turning points and moments that altered the game for both players, he also gave his own professional opinion on why he saw similarities between Alcaraz, one of the game’s brightest young talents, and Djokovic, one of tennis’s greatest of all time.
He claimed: ‘That’s where you really felt that it was turning [after Sinner served for the match], but still in the tiebreak, you know, Sinner was able to get back and get to the tiebreak. It looked like that wouldn’t happen.
‘And Alcaraz was just, reminds me of Novak, you know, in the tiebreaker, so clutch. Now, he does it in a little bit of a different way. He goes for it, and he was making it.’
It’s ironic that such a comparison should emerge just as rumours are swirling about Djokovic’s potential retirement.
However, Querrey did identify a period that he felt changed the game, as Sinner’s fitness faded. He claimed: ‘Exactly. [Sinner] pulled up lame.
‘I would say, for the next four games, it looked like he was a step slower. I saw how Alcaraz go to the drop shot quite often there in the next four games. And then, again, to Sinner’s credit, he kind of found a second wind. He ended up breaking Alcaraz back in midway through the fifth, and then it looked like he was on top of things for a while.
‘I mean, Alcaraz served for the match, Sinner broke him. That entire fifth, that really the entire match. I mean, there was probably six different times you kind of in your head thought, Alcaraz has this. You know what? No Jannik has this. You know what? I’m going back to Alcaraz…
‘We saw Sinner late there, like I said, with the drop shots, he wasn’t sliding into the drop shot. He was running up to it and knocking the ball then, sliding out on the leg.
‘It was that drop shot that he got to that actually that kind of changed the momentum I felt like in the fifth set.’
Carlos Alcaraz is already on his way towards tennis greatness
In beating Jannik Sinner to claim a second-straight French Open title, and a fifth major, the Spaniard has continued to knock down records.
And, arguably most importantly of all, is still on track to emulate the likes of Djokovic in claiming 20 or more Grand Slam titles.
To already have five at the age of 22 is obscene, having truly monopolised both clay and grass in the last year and a half.
The expectation is that, at Wimbledon, he will repeat his Parisian feat and defend yet another crown.
He draws similarities to Djokovic for a number of reasons, but perhaps most pertinent is his penchant to show up in the biggest moments. This will stand him in good stead whilst trying to chase down whatever record the Serbian leaves when he eventually does retire.
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