Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have been compared by ATP pro Alexandre Muller, with the former being described as ‘totally suffocating’ on court.
Muller has played against both once before, having a previous meeting with Djokovic at the US Open and Alcaraz at Wimbledon in 2023.
The Frenchman lost both in straight sets, but only managed to take five games off Djokovic in New York.
Both Djokovic and Alcaraz went onto win the respective titles, but Muller has suggested that the experiences of playing them was very different,
“Against Novak, the truth is that I’ve never felt like that on a tennis court before.” revealed Muller. “It was totally suffocating. The guy leaves you nothing, not a crumb, it’s horrible.”
He added, “I played Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon and it was almost relaxing compared to Novak. Carlos lets you breathe a little, but Novak suffocates you all the time.”
Muller went onto admit that he even questioned whether he would be able to win a game, but knew that he could get on the scoreboard against Alcaraz.
“Djoko doesn’t let you breathe. There were 6–0, 2–0, I was afraid. We said to ourselves: ‘Am I going to play?,” questioned the 27-year-old. “Whereas Alcaraz, he is more flamboyant, but I had small games where I was able to win easily. Djokovic is more impressive.”
Muller continued, “They are two different games. We talked about it with my coach Gérard Solvès. I told him that against Alcaraz, I knew I was going to score. He tries a lot, so he makes a lot more mistakes.
“But against Novak, I had the impression that if he wanted to put me three times 6-0 up, he could do it. He’s so solid, he doesn’t give away any free points and that makes it more complicated for me. With Alcaraz, I have a bit more breathing space to win games.”
Muller has only played Djokovic and Alcaraz once, but could be drawn against them again at the Shanghai Masters next month.
Inside the baseline…
Most players would not want to play against either Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz, but it seems as though Alexandre Muller almost has a fear of competing against the Serbian. Despite Alcaraz winning two Grand Slam titles this year, Muller’s point is understandable as the Spaniard can sometimes get a bit over excited and go off the boil, whereas Djokovic is generally more efficient.
