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‘I expect a tribute with every ace’: Novak Djokovic to discuss ‘copyrights’ with Carlos Alcaraz over new Australian Open serve

Australian Open 2026: Ever since beating Djokovic and Jannik Sinner in succession to clinch his sixth Grand Slam title at the US Open last year, Alcaraz has been polishing and overhauling his serve, which has been pivotal in the two big wins in New York.

3 min readUpdated: Jan 20, 2026 09:40 AM IST

Australian Open 2026: Novak Djokovic joked that he expected a tribute from every ace that Alcaraz launched with his new serving technique. (AP Photo)

Novak Djokovic turned up in pristine form in his first-round win at the Australian Open on Monday. While he notched up his 100th win in Melbourne Park in straight sets over Spain’s Pedro Martinez, the 24-time Grand Slam champion couldn’t be not bothered by the new service game of the more accomplished Spaniard and No. 1 seed, Carlos Alcaraz.

Ever since beating Djokovic and Jannik Sinner in succession to clinch his sixth Grand Slam title at the US Open last year, Alcaraz has been polishing and overhauling his serve, which has been pivotal in the two big wins in New York. And the fresh product, intriguingly, bears an uncanny resemblance to Djokovic’s technique.

The Serbian acknowledged that it was indeed time for a copyright check.

Also Read | Australian Open 2026: How Novak Djokovic can still win a Grand Slam in the age of ‘Sincaraz’

“As soon as I saw it, I sent him a message,” an amused Djokovic said shortly after 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,” joked Djokovic.

Novak Djokovic on how he feels and Carlos Alcaraz copying his serve:

Djokovic: “As soon as I saw Carlos’ serve I sent him a message. Every ace he hits, I expect a tribute to me. Let’s see if he’s going to stick to the agreement.” 😂pic.twitter.com/uGhJN1UN8D

— Danny (@DjokovicFan_) January 19, 2026

‘Smoother, calmer’

While Djokovic had won the quarter-final tie against Alcaraz at the Australian Open in four sets last year, one would expect him to get a real feel of his own game if the two are to cross paths again this year. Alcaraz recently reflected on his tweaked serve, admitting that while the similarity was probably undeniable, the remodelled style has improved his rhythm.

Djokovic and Alcaraz serves, side by side pic.twitter.com/WdzgBixP09

— The Big Three (@Big3Tennis) January 13, 2026

“I wasn’t thinking about making the same serve as Djokovic,” Alcaraz said before 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.

“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.