‘I expect a tribute’ – Novak Djokovic messages Carlos Alcaraz with copyright claim after Australian Open first round

Eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot a change in Carlos Alcaraz’s serving motion at the Australian Open.

There were a few obvious similarities between his new serve and Novak Djokovic’s, which did not go unnoticed by the 24-time Grand Slam winner.

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The Spaniard’s technical tweaks have been a huge talking point during the early days at the Australian Open.

It seemed to do the job too as the six-time Grand Slam winner, who can complete the career slam in Australia, as he sailed through his first round match in straight sets against Adam Walton.

The 22-year-old immediately fielded questions about the similarities between his serve and Djokovic’s motion.

“You wanted to say it’s really similar to [the] Djokovic serve,” Alcaraz smiled. “I know you want to. No, I don’t know. I think everyone has to make changes, small details.

“For me the serve is something that I really want to be better every year, in every tournament. I am just putting constant work on the serve.

“I would say, like, for myself, I’m just making changes all the time, every tournament, every day, without someone has to tell me. Like, for example, I’m just changing the movement a little bit.

“Now with this movement on the serve, I just feel really, really comfortable, smooth, really calm and peaceful rhythm, which I think helps me a lot to do a better serve.

“Let’s see how it’s going to be this year. Probably you’re going to see another change.”

Novak Djokovic’s response

The 38-year-old’s serve has been the biggest change to his game over the last decade.

In 2018, he unveiled a radically different action with a shortened backswing that helped him go on to win another 11 slams.

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“As soon as I saw it, I sent him a message,” Djokovic said. “I said, you know, we have to speak about the copyrights.

“Then when I saw him here, I told him we have to talk about a percentage of his winnings. Every ace I expect, you know, a tribute to me. Every ace that he makes here. Let’s see if he’s going to stick to the agreement.”

Australian Open 2026

Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the outright favourites to win the title in Melbourne, having shared the last eight slams between them.

The last person not named Alcaraz or Sinner to get their hands on one was Novak Djokovic at the 2023 US Open.

Djokovic is currently tied with Margaret Court for a record 24 singles Grand Slam titles and is desperate to win a 25th and hold the record outright.

He did sail through his opening round match against Pedro Martinez, claiming his 100th victory at the Australian Open.

When asked if he can still win it, John McEnroe told TNT Sports: “In his heart of hearts and in my opinion, no. I don’t think he can beat both of those guys when he has already had to go through five matches – that’s the problem. That’s the reality he has talked about. 

“A lot of people might think, ‘Why are you still going at this point, you haven’t won in a couple of years and you are so used to winning?’ Why not would be the question?

“In my book, he is No. 3 in the world. He made four semis last year and beat Alcaraz here. He must think he can still win this otherwise because he won’t play unless he thinks he can win, which is tougher because he doesn’t play much.”