How to beat Novak Djokovic… by the last three players who did it

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Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic's rivalry is the talk of tennis

Novak Djokovic lost only his sixth match of 2023 when he was beaten by Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals in Turin on Tuesday, but have his conquerors in 2023 found a way to beat the great champion?

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune are the last three players to beat Djokovic, with the win for Alcaraz coming in the Wimbledon final and Rune getting his second career win against Djokovic at the Rome Masters in May.

Overpowering the world No 1 is the only way to beat a player who has dominated men’s tennis for a decade and more – and that is easier said than done.

Heavy hitting from the back of the court was the key for Sinner and Rune to get the job done against Djokovic, with Alcaraz’s brilliant brand of variety as he came to the net and threw plenty of drop shots into the mix was enough to get him over the line and win his first Wimbledon title in July.

How did they do it?

Here are the views of the players who have knocked Djokovic off his perch in a year when he will finish as the undisputed king of men’s tennis once again.

HOLGER RUNE (Beat Djokovic in the 2023 Rome Masters)

“I don’t want to say exactly what I did to beat him because then he will know for the next time!

“The key word is to keep fighting until the end because tennis is never over until the last point. You also have to take you chances.

“For sure you have to be aggressive, but it is not easy to beat him, clearly.

“For sure he makes it very difficult for me also. It’s a good battle every time we play.

“I like to battle with him. He’s a great player to play because he makes it so challenging for me, which I find nice because I can really see where I have to improve, what is working.”

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CARLOS ALCARAZ (Beat Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final)

“Before this match, I thought I can’t beat Novak. That’s obviously changed after this epic match.

“Probably before this match, I thought that I wasn’t ready to beat Djokovic in five sets, an epic match like this. Stay good physically or good mentally about five hours against a legend, probably I learned today about myself.

“You have to try to go for the match against him. In those decisive moments, that is where you can tell the difference between a good player and a top player. This is here Djokovic, Rafa (Nadal), (Roger) Federer, or all the players that are ultimately there for a long time.

“You also need to believe you can win and that isn’t always easy against these top guys.”

JANNIK SINNER (beat Djokovic at the 2023 ATP Finals)

“It’s part of the process when you beat someone like this for the first time.

“I feel that I’m a little bit more confident in certain moments in a match.

“I still have to learn many things. Like in the tie-break in the second set, obviously, he played better than me, but I missed a couple of first serves and these are the key moments.

“I think I was really brave and intelligent in important moments, especially the third set. I felt like we were both serving really well so there were not so many exchanges, but when the exchanges were played, we both played really well.”

TENNIS365 VERDICT

You need to try and take control of the match away from Djokovic as that is when he is at his most vulnerable.

Djokovic openly admits he does not enjoy matches against Hubert Hurkacz and that is because he struggles to get a read on the Polish star’s serve and runs outof ideas as aces continue to fly past him.

He generally finds a way to win against an opponent like Hurkacz, who has weak spots in his game that Djokovic can eventually break down.

Yet when he takes on Alcaraz or Sinner and they are on top form, those weak spots are harder to press on.

An immaculate, big-hitting performance is needed to take Djokovic down on a tennis court, with Sinner and Alcaraz among the handful of players who are capable of sustaining the level of brilliance required for long enough to see off the best player on the planet.

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