Watch: Novak Djokovic practices with Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid
Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic and one of the rising sensations in tennis, Carlos Alcaraz, were seen hitting the practice courts together ahead of the Madrid Open, which began on Sunday.
¡¡Hey!! Que es 2 de Mayo pero aquí seguimos #TenisRTVE2M #MMOPEN
El 'Tennis Garden' sigue pareciendo la pista central del @MutuaMadridOpen con "partidillos" como el que nos regalaron esta mañana Djokovic (@DjokerNole) y Alcaraz (@alcarazcarlos03)
rtve.es/deportes/tenis… https://t.co/mHVtYjtRBG
As seen in the video, the duo were trading punishing groundstrokes from the back of the court.
Both suffered shock losses in the previous Masters 1000 event in Monte-Carlo and will be looking to make a mark in Madrid. Interestingly, they are projected to meet in the semifinals in the Spanish capital.
Djokovic will be competing at the Madrid Open for the first time since 2019, when he won the tournament after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4 in the final. The event was canceled in 2020 owing to COVID-19 and the Serb opted not to participate in 2021 as he wanted to recharge his batteries ahead of Roland Garros.
Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz has been making heads turn this year with incredible performances, winning titles in Rio, Miami and Barcelona.
His incredible run in Barcelona saw him beat the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alex de Minaur and Pablo Carreno Busta en route to the title. Alcaraz subsequently broke into the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
Novak Djokovic will be hoping to hit his stride and reach peak form ahead of French Open
Novak Djokovic has suffered a stop-start season, with the Serb's unwillingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine preventing him from participating in several tournaments.
Djokovic will hope to get some much-needed matches under his belt in Madrid, but the Serb has his work cut out for him, with the likes of Casper Ruud, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in his section of the draw.
🐐🐐 https://t.co/FAj7Gkb2wT
Djokovic also has a lot of points to defend on clay this year. The Serb is defending 3350 points on the surface, with 500 points coming from his title in Madrid in 2019, 2000 points from Roland Garros, 250 from Belgrade 2 and 600 from Rome last year.