Carlos Alcaraz has been told exactly how he needs to play in order to defeat Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
Alcaraz has been superb at the US Open, but he heads into his match with Djokovic with a negative head-to-head record.
The Spaniard has lost five of his eight games to Djokovic, and Alcaraz is yet to beat Djokovic on a hard-court.
The pair’s ninth meeting on the ATP Tour has plenty on the line, and Alcaraz has been told by his coach what he needs to do to win.
Carlos Alcaraz needs to play ‘very consistently’ to defeat Novak Djokovic
Alcaraz heads into his match with Djokovic having lost their previous two meetings, at the Paris Olympics and the Australian Open.
The Spaniard’s coach, former pro Juan Carlos Ferrero, told Sky Sports exactly what Alcaraz needs to do to reverse his fortunes.
“Carlos has to play his best, absolutely, and try to, you know, put the rhythm that he has that is very high and try to be very focused all the time,” explained Ferrero.
Alcaraz has often been accused of lacking focus at certain times in games, and Ferrero has once again emphasised how the Spaniard’s levels are important to defeating Djokovic.
Ferrero said Alcaraz must “not give [Djokovic] ups and downs, [he needs to] play very consistently all the time.”
Carlos Alcaraz is two matches away from history at the US Open
Alcaraz has been supreme at the US Open, defeating the likes of Arthur Rinderknech and Jiri Lehecka without dropping a set.
The Spaniard is the only player left in the men’s draw to not drop a set at this year’s event, and he would be the first player to lift the trophy without doing so in US Open history.
Should he get past Djokovic in the semi-final, he will likely face Jannik Sinner in the final of the tournament.
Having dropped five sets to the Italian in his past two Grand Slam finals, that would be a very difficult task indeed.