Former stars claim Carlos Alcaraz has a way to go match Rafael Nadal's mental toughness

World No. 3 Alcaraz was beaten 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 by Novak Djokovic in Melbourne, pushing back his quest to complete the Career Grand Slam until at least 2026.

Djokovic was struggling physically during the match and, despite his win, eventually retired due to a hamstring injury in his semi-final versus Alexander Zverev.

In the aftermath of his defeat, Alcaraz was criticised by some for failing to take advantage of his opponent's obvious struggles.

The latest to do so is Italian tennis great Paolo Bertolucci, speaking on Sky Sports Italia.

Bertolucci, a former world No 12 and a Davis Cup champion, claimed that Alcaraz should have won the match - and was lacking the mental toughness of his idol Nadal.

"Alcaraz is sleeveless like Nadal, he plays differently, but he is a thousand miles away from Rafa in his head," said Bertolucci.

"He should have gone 2-1 in the match with Nole and probably would have brought the match home."

Adding to Bertolucci's criticism of Alcaraz was Adriano Panatta.

The former world No 4 and 1976 French Open champion said that Alcaraz "must be at a level" where he can no longer lose to Djokovic at Grand Slam level.

"Mentally he [Djokovic] crushes anyone, the other one took the bait with all his boots," added Panatta. "Novak is a great champion, phenomenal, nice or unpleasant, it's subjective.

"But even a set tied, with Djokovic, he can no longer lose. He can no longer afford to lose against Novak. He was defeated in Paris two out of three but it was something special, a final on clay at the Olympics.

"Three out of five, Alcaraz must be at a level that he should no longer be beaten by Nole."

Alcaraz has won both of his Grand Slam finals against Djokovic, beating the Serbian in back-to-back Wimbledon finals in 2023 and 2024.

Djokovic got the better of the Spaniard at the French Open in 2023 and now their most recent meeting in Melbourne, meaning they hold two wins apiece in their head-to-head at majors.

However, Djokovic now holds a 5-3 advantage in their rivalry, having triumphed in both their Olympic gold medal match and their Australian Open contest following Alcaraz's SW19 triumph last July.

Alcaraz was looking to become the youngest man in tennis history to complete the Career Grand Slam in Melbourne, though is still yet to make it past the quarter-final stage at the Australian Open.

The four-time Grand Slam champion would still become the youngest-ever player to win all four majors should he triumph in 2026 or 2027.

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