Former world No. 1 Andy Roddick was rooting for a Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz matchup as the American thought it “might be beneficial” for the Serb to clash the Miami Masters champion.Ā
Djokovic, seeded at No. 1, suffered a shock defeat in his Monte Carlo opener as he was stunned by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round.Ā
Once the Monte Carlo draw was released, one of the first things that stood out was a potential quarterfinal meeting between Djokovic and Alcaraz.Ā
“I think this draw is a good one for Novak Djokovic,” Roddick said on Tennis Channel before Djokovic’s first match. “What he wants is extended rallies, someone to not come in and kind of play awkwardly. He gets a rightie, someone who’s going to play a lot of balls, put a lot of balls in the court, not come out and kind of blow him off the court – with Davidovich Fokina. I know Dan Evans beat him last year in Monte-Carlo, but I still like that matchup. He’s going to hit a lot of returns, he’s going to be in the return games.”
Roddick: Alcaraz is rising but Djokovic might want to send a messageĀ
“Listen, I hope we see that Alcaraz matchup, because I actually think that might be beneficial for Novak,” Roddick continued. “A match kind of early in the claycourt season, but that there’s a lot of hype around. You get those kind of nervous energies again, where you can kind of put a chip on your shoulder and say – ‘Oh, if you’re the next one, listen, I’m still here.’ I think that actually could be a good thing for Novak moving forward through this claycourt season.”
During his pre-tournament press conference, Alcaraz admitted he would like to get a shot at Djokovic.Ā
Last month, Alcaraz reached the Indian Wells Masters semifinal before losing in three sets to Rafael Nadal.Ā