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Alcaraz vs. Djokovic: The Next Kid Up Faces the Game’s Steeliest Brain

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, who have played each other only once, will finally do so again on Friday in the French Open semifinals. Can the ultimate young talent beat the ultimate tennis mind?

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will finally meet again, 13 months after their first match.Credit...Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters; James Hill for The New York Times

A moment arrives nearly every time a younger player seizes the advantage over Novak Djokovic, with designs of toppling him from his perch at the top of tennis.

It doesn’t matter how deep a hole Djokovic has dug for himself, or how well the whippersnapper on the other side of the net might be playing.