Novak Djokovic contacts Carlos Alcaraz to discuss ‘copyright’ as new serve revealed

Novak Djokovic joked he had contacted Carlos Alcaraz to discuss “copyright” after the Spaniard revealed a new service motion at the Australian Open that bore a striking similarity to his own.

“As soon as I saw it, I sent him a message,” Djokovic said following his opening win at the Australian Open on Monday. “I said, we have to speak about the copyrights. Then when I saw him here, I told him we have to talk about percentage of his winnings. Every ace I expect a tribute to me. Let's see if he's going to stick to the agreement.”

Alcaraz’s serve was a major weapon as the 22-year-old won his sixth grand slam title at the US Open in September, but he has continued to tweak it during the off-season.

“I wasn't thinking about making the same serve as Djokovic,” Alcaraz said when asked about his serve before the Australian Open. “But in the end, I can even see the similarities.”

He added: “Now with this movement on the serve, I just feel really, really comfortable, smooth, really calm and peaceful rhythm, which I think it 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, I don't know if the next months or at the end of the year. I just make constant changes in every shot. It's just about really small details.”

Alcaraz, who split with long-term coach and mentor Juan Carlos Ferrero during the off-season, began his Australian Open with a straight-sets win on Sunday and has been drawn on the opposite side of the draw to Djokovic, who could have to play defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.