Djokovic vs Alcaraz: Head-to-head, stats, everything you need to know – updated ahead of semi-final clash at 2023 ATP Finals

How many times have Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz played each other?

Five. A year and a half ago, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz stepped on to the clay of Madrid to face each other for the first time on the ATP Tour.

Alcaraz won the victory there, but the Serbian gained revenge when he defeated Alcaraz in four sets at Roland-Garros in 2023, in the semi-finals.

Despite the fact that there have only been four matches between Djokovic and Alcaraz, it’s one of the most exciting head-to-head match-ups in the sport right now, not least thanks to the Spaniard’s win over the Serb in the Wimbledon final in the summer of 2023.

With only a small number of matches, plenty of intrigue remains around the head-to-head between what are undeniably the best two players in men’s tennis right now. Djokovic is the incumbent, the all-time Grand Slam record holder, most prolific record-breaker in tennis, while Alcaraz is the young up-and-comer, who has already held the world No 1 ranking and has been charting new territory at 20 years old.

Read on for everything there is to know about Djokovic vs Alcaraz, as we investigate this budding rivalry.

How many titles for Djokovic and Alcaraz?

What’s fascinating about the Djokovic-Alcaraz rivalry is the different stage of career both players are at. Djokovic has been on the ATP Tour for the better part of two decades, while Alcaraz is barely in his third full year on Tour.

This difference in career stage leads to a significant disparity in titles between Djokovic and Alcaraz.

Novak Djokovic has won 97 titles in his career, including:

• Grand Slams: 24
• ATP Finals: 6
• Masters 1000s: 40
• ATP 500s: 14
• ATP 250: 13

Carlos Alcaraz has won 12 titles in his career, including:

• Grand Slams: 2
• ATP Finals: 0
• Masters 1000s: 4
• ATP 500s: 4
• ATP 250s: 2

Who is better between Djokovic and Alcaraz at the same age?

A more relevant and fair measure of understanding the Djokovic vs Alcaraz head-to-head is by looking at how their careers have tracked age-wise. Is Alcaraz better than Djokovic was at the same age?

Purely based on titles and ranking, Carlos Alcaraz is better than Novak Djokovic was at the same age.

Right now, Novak Djokovic is 36 years old, while Carlos Alcaraz is 20 years old. There is a 16-year age gap between the two players.

When Djokovic was 20 years old, he had claimed 10 titles in his career to date. This included one Grand Slam victory, at the 2008 Australian Open, as well as four Masters 1000 titles, one ATP 500 and four ATP 250 events. His highest ranking as a 20-year-old was world No 3.

Alcaraz, on the other hand, has two more titles than Djokovic did at the same age. Of his 12 titles, he also has a higher proportion of ATP 500s, compared to ATP 250s, plus two Grand Slams. As well as this, Alcaraz finished year-end world No 1 when he was only 19 years old, something that Djokovic was unable to achieve until he was 24 years old.

Djokovic vs Alcaraz: Who has the best stats?

Looking at the Djokovic vs Alcaraz stats, again, the comparison is difficult to make because of the different stage these players are at in their careers.

Novak Djokovic has a career win-loss ratio of 1085 to 212, winning 83.6% of the time he steps on the court. This figure is even higher at Grand Slams, with Djokovic winning 88.3% of his matches, for a 361-48 lifetime record at Majors.

Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, has a win-loss ratio of 155-43 across the course of his short career. This is a 78.7% winning percentage, which remains almost identical at Grand Slams (a 41-9 record at 82%).

Both players are excellent returners, with Djokovic shading at 32% of career return games won to 31% for Alcaraz. Djokovic holds the slight edge in service games, at 86% to Alcaraz’s 82%.

What is the best match between Djokovic vs Alcaraz?

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have played five matches across their careers, with Djokovic leading 3-2.

Carlos Alcaraz upset Novak Djokovic in a five-set epic in the 2023 Wimbledon final to take a 2-1 lead in their lifetime head-to-head in July, before Djokovic drew level once again by winning the final in Cincinnati.

Djokovic then moved one ahead by beating Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the 2023 ATP Finals.

2023 ATP Finals semi-final: Djokovic wins 6-3, 6-2

Djokovic produced a masterclass to deliver the most one-sided win in the pair’s rivalry to date, beating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-2 with a break in the first set and two in the second,

2023 Cincinnati final: Djokovic wins 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4)

Djokovic beat Alcaraz in one of the matches of the year in the final of Cincinnati 2023.

The Serb looked down and out as he was severely struggling physically in the harsh humidity of the Midwest heat, facing a set-and-a-break deficit.

However, the 23-time Grand Slam champion turned things around yet again in quite extraordinary fashion to win a thee-set match pushing four hours.

The final set was one of the best on tour in recent years, with the young Spaniard saving four championship points before Djokovic was finally able to clinch the tiebreak to win his 39th Masters 1000 title.

2023 Wimbledon final: Alcaraz wins 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4

Alcaraz claimed a thrilling 1-6, 7-6 (6), 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 over Djokovic to earn his first Wimbledon title and his second Grand Slam title.

It was the pair’s first final.

Djokovic was bidding for his eighth Wimbledon title and 24th major title, but fell short as Alcaraz snapped the Serbian’s 15-match Grand Slam tiebreak winning streak in the second set, then hit 18 winners in a dazzling fifth set to wrestle the match from the 36-year-old.

Two champions that treated us to an all-time classic ✨

Thank you, @DjokerNole and @carlosalcaraz 👏#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/P3SAca0gET

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 16, 2023

2022 Madrid: Alcaraz wins 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5)

Their first match came in Madrid in 2022, where an 18-year-old Alcaraz was on the hottest streak of his career so far.

The Spaniard had already beaten Nikoloz Basilashvili, Cam Norrie and Rafael Nadal to make the semi-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid, requiring three sets to navigate his round of 16 and quarter-final matches. Djokovic, on the other hand, had cruised through his section of the draw, thumping Gael Monfils and Hubert Hurkacz, with a walkover in between.

What unfolded in the semi-final was a match for the ages. Djokovic took the set in a tight tiebreak, before the 18-year-old tore back into contention with a gritty 7-5 second set. In the decider, Alcaraz played fearless tennis to force a tiebreak, coming up with the goods when it counted to win the match 7-6 (5) in the third.

The calibre of tennis was unreal from both—Alcaraz struck 51 winners with only five unforced errors, while Djokovic pummelled 29 winners to two unforced errors.

2023 Roland-Garros: Djokovic wins 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1

In what was perhaps the most anticipated tennis match of the past five years, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz met in the 2023 Roland-Garros semi-finals, after a year of barely playing in the same draw.

The pair picked up where they left off, trading two high-quality opening sets that lasted the better part of two hours and had some breath-taking shot-making.

With the match level at 1-1 and the third set beginning, fans were strapping themselves in for a five-hour epic. That is, until Carlos Alcaraz’s body gave way. That’s right—the 20-year-old was the first to falter physically, with the 36-year-old Novak Djokovic winning the physical battle. Unfortunately for neutral fans, Alcaraz began to experience severe body cramps, causing Djokovic to run away with the match 6-1, 6-1 in the remaining two sets.

Alcaraz himself confessed after the match that his cramps were less due to a lack of physical conditioning, and more due to nerves and stress, courtesy of the occasion and the player across the net.