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'He always looks like he’s 20, 25 years old physically': Carlos Alcaraz praises Novak Djokovic's longevity, shares Roger Federer advice

Originally posted on TennisUpToDate.com | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 10:03 AM ET

Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in the 2025 US Open final with a straight-sets win over Novak Djokovic, making his way to a Grand Slam final without dropping a set for the first time in his career. Speaking to the press afterwards, the Spaniard reflected on his performance, his growth in maturity, and the challenges that lie ahead.

Alcaraz saw off Djokovic albeit not at his best 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 in the end and now faces Jannik Sinner in the final who has just booked his spot in the US Open final taking down Felix Auger-Aliassime. He was left pleased with his consistency despite perhaps not playing at his complete best.

“For me it’s great,” Alcaraz said of his flawless run to the final. “It’s something that I’m working on – just the consistency, in the matches, in the tournaments, in the year in general. Just not having ups and downs in the match. The level that I start the match, I just want to keep that level really high during the whole match. I think I’m doing that in this tournament, which I’m really proud about.”

He added that his development is as much about maturity off the court as it is on it. “Probably I’m just getting more mature, getting to know myself much, much better – what I need off the court. The things that I’m doing off the court I think I’m doing really, really well, which helps a lot to play my best tennis. So I think it’s getting better.”

Facing Djokovic, Alcaraz admitted, always brings a unique pressure, though he said he wasn’t overly nervous. “It was more about playing a semifinal, and I’m playing against Novak. It’s not easy playing against him, to be honest. I’m not thinking about the legend he is or what he has achieved in his career – it’s difficult not to think about it – so that makes facing him even tougher. But I’m really happy to get my first win against him on hard court and to make another final here.”

Improvements compared to previous years and his haircut

Alcaraz also reflected on his improvements compared to recent years, as well as those of rival Jannik Sinner, who could be his opponent in the final. “For him, I think physically he has improved a lot. It wasn’t a secret. He has spoken about the physical conditions he had to improve. Over the last year, the last two years, he has improved a lot physically. His matches are really demanding, but now he is able to play at 100 percent for two, three, four hours. That’s the biggest improvement he has made.

“For me, I think it’s the consistency and avoiding the ups and downs – in the matches and off the court. I’ve realised how important it is to take care of all the details, just to be perfect. That was my biggest improvement.”

Looking to the final, whether against Sinner or Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alcaraz said preparation would involve learning from past encounters. “If I’m playing against Jannik, obviously I’m going to take things from the last matches I’ve played against him. The last one or the last three matches – I’ll take notes, see what I did wrong, what I did well, just to approach the final in a good way. If I’m playing against Felix, it’s going to be the same. I’ll watch the previous matches against him and take notes about the good things and the bad things I did.”

Asked if he would keep his current haircut if he won the title, Alcaraz laughed: “Even better, even better. You will see. Surprise.”

President Trump attending, longevity of Djokovic and Federer

He was also asked about the prospect of playing in front of Donald Trump, who is expected to attend Sunday’s final. “I think it’s a privilege for the tournaments, having the president from any country come to support the tournament, to support tennis, to support the match. For me, playing in front of him – to be honest, I’ll try not to focus on that. I’ll try not to think about it because I don’t want to be nervous because of it. But attending a tennis match, it’s great for tennis to have the president at the final.”

With Djokovic’s longevity on the agenda, Alcaraz was asked if he could imagine playing at the same level at 38. “Thank God that’s too far from me right now,” he smiled. “One person once told me you don’t have to think about 35, 38 years old, still playing at that age. He told me: you have to be focused on the next five years – from now until when I’m 27. Then when I get to 27, think about the next five years more. So it’s not about thinking in 15 or 20 years. It’s just about going year by year, or thinking about five years maximum. We’ll see until what age. I’ll try to take care of my body as well as I can now, just to have a lot of years to go.”

He was full of admiration for Djokovic’s ability to continue competing at the top of the sport. “It’s impressive what he has done this year in the Slams, reaching the semifinal in every Slam, challenging us the way he’s doing. He always looks like he’s 20, 25 years old physically. To maintain that level at 38, it’s impressive.”

Finally, Alcaraz revealed that it was Roger Federer who gave him the advice to focus on five-year increments rather than looking too far ahead. “I think he’s the best person who could tell me that, and I will try to follow his words. And yeah, probably this is the best level and the best feeling I’ve had so far in a tennis tournament or in a year. I’ll try to keep it like that.”

This article first appeared on TennisUpToDate.com and was syndicated with permission.

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