'I've played Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic – one is much tougher than the other'

French tennis star Alexandre Muller has lifted the lid on what it's like to face off against tennis giants Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

The 27-year-old has revealed that playing against Djokovic is "horrible" while Alcaraz allows for "more mistakes". Muller has recently battled both on the court and found himself overpowered by Djokovic at the US Open in 2023, succumbing in straight sets as the Serbian legend dominated the game.

Muller also squared off with Alcaraz at Wimbledon in the same year, where despite a valiant effort, he was also defeated in three sets by the Spaniard who later clinched the All-England title. Despite the defeat, Muller boldly stated that Djokovic presents a more formidable challenge than the two-time Wimbledon champion.

Muller described his encounter with the 39-year-old Djokovic as "suffocating" and unlike any other match he's played. He also declared the Serbian's style means opponents are left with "nothing", reports the Express.

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"Against Novak, the truth is that I've never felt like that on a tennis court before" he told We Love Tennis. "It was totally suffocating. The guy leaves you nothing, not a crumb, it's horrible.

"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 also admitted he was "afraid" against Djokovic as he was swiftly beaten 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 at the US Open by the Serbian ace as he stormed his way to his fourth title in New York. Comparing him with Alcaraz, Muller admitted he found the Spanish youngster slightly less daunting.

"Djoko doesn't let you breathe," Muller told L'Equipe. "There were 6-0, 2-0, I was afraid. We said to ourselves: 'Am I going to play? ' Whereas Alcaraz, he is more flamboyant, but I had small games where I was able to win easily. Djokovic is more impressive."

Discussing strategic differences in facing Djokovic versus Alcaraz, Muller revealed that while planning for the encounters, he and his team expected more opportunities to score against Alcaraz given his tendency to take risks and make errors. In contrast, he said that Djokovic's rock-solid game offers no such chances.

"They are two different games. We talked about it with my coach Gerard Solves. I told him that against Alcaraz, I knew I was going to score. He tries a lot, so he makes a lot more mistakes," Muller said. "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 reached a career-high ATP ranking of No 76 in July this year and has won nine of his 23 matches at ATP Tour level in 2024.

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