Novak Djokovic revealed that he messaged Carlos Alcaraz about his new serve, joking about copyrights and asking for a share of the prize money after noticing its similarity to his own.
Novak Djokovic wants world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to share his prize money with him after the Spaniard’s new serving technique uncannily resembled that of the Serbian. Alcaraz has been on a mission to change his serve ever since winning the US Open 2025, during which he got the better of Djokovic and Jannik Sinner.
But his new serve, which he has been using at the Australian Open 2026, is very similar to that of Djokovic. The 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic was asked about the similarity after his
opening round win over Pedro Martinez of Spain.
Djokovic jokes Alcaraz should pay up after unveiling Djokovic-style serve
Djokovic saw the lighter side of the question as he revealed that he has already asked Alcaraz to share the prize money with him and tribute for every ace he hits.
“As soon as I saw it, I sent him a message. I said, we have to speak about the copyrights,” Djokovic joked. “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.”
Recently, Alcaraz had also admitted that his latest serve is very similar to that of Djokovic, even though that is not what he aimed for.
“I expect a tribute to me” 😅
Djokovic playfully accusing Alcaraz of borrowing his ‘copyrighted’ serve 😆🎾 pic.twitter.com/IOFz3AxXyV
— TNT Sports (@tntsports) January 19, 2026
“I wasn’t thinking about making the same serve as Djokovic,” Alcaraz said ahead of the Australian Open. “But in the end, I can even see the similarities.”
“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.
Also Read |
‘Title number 25 is Djokovic’s main motivation, but you wonder if age has caught up’: Somdev Devvarman
“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,” added Alcaraz.
End of Article
