Novak Djokovic Congratulates US Open Champion Carlos Alcaraz as He Becomes the Youngest Grand Slam Champion Since Rafael Nadal

It was the 2021 US Open. Spanish sensation, Carlos Alcaraz, was playing in his maiden US Open tournament. Unseeded that year, he reached the quarterfinals of the tournament before retiring midway during the last-eight clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime. Nonetheless, Alcaraz was destined for big things in the coming years.

The 19-year-old didn’t disappoint as he won his maiden Grand Slam title at this year’s US Open. He put on an eye-catching display throughout the tournament to emerge victorious. Following his exploits in Flushing Meadows, Alcaraz received praise from the former World Number 1, Novak Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic has a message for Carlos Alcaraz

The 21-time Grand Slam champion took to Instagram to praise Alcaraz for putting on a brilliant performance to win the US Open title. Sharing a picture of Alcaraz lifting the US Open trophy, Djokovic said, “Congratulations @carlitosalcarazz for your first Grand Slam. Amazing performance.”

Alcaraz defeated Norway’s Casper Ruud in the summit clash of the US Open in four sets. It was the latter’s second Grand Slam final defeat this year after losing against Rafael Nadal in the summit clash of the French Open.

Meanwhile, Djokovic had to skip the US Open after being denied entry into the United States owing to his vaccination status. Earlier, he had also missed the National Bank Open in Montreal and the Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati due to the same reason.

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The Serb also faced a blow to his ATP ranking due to his absence from this year’s US Open. He slipped to the seventh position in the latest ATP rankings.

Djokovic to miss the Davis Cup

The former World Number 1 will skip the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Final. Talking about this, Serbia captain, Viktor Troicki, said, “Nole will not play for personal reasons. It’s his personal matter. Simply, this time he will be prevented from playing, but he will join the national team if we qualify for the final tournament in Malaga in November.”

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Serbia will face Spain, Canada, and Korea Republic in the Group Stage of the Davis Cup Final, commencing today.