"Novak still has that aura": in the ATP locker rooms, the raw truth behind Djokovic, Sinner, and Alcaraz

A Top 60 player lifts the veil on what no one sees: the real atmosphere in the ATP circuit locker rooms.

© AFP

Arthur Millot

le 22/12/2025 à 11h06

2 min to read

Alcaraz Carlos Djokovic Novak Kovacevic Aleksandar Sinner Jannik

ATP locker rooms are not an arena: "It's like clocking in at work"

Alexander Kovacevic, 27 years old and ranked 60th in the world, discussed the daily life of a top-level player in the ATP circuit locker rooms. And the least that can be said is that what he describes is far from the clichés.

"The locker rooms, it's like clocking in at work. You see the same guys every week," he explains.

According to Kovacevic, the ATP circuit resembles a large company more than a war of egos. Players cross paths, chat about everything and nothing, share showers and treatment rooms.

Djokovic, the absolute exception: "He still has that aura"

While he dismisses the myth of an electric locker room, Kovacevic acknowledges an undeniable reality: aura exists, but it is rare.

"As for the aura, Novak still has it. Sinner and Alcaraz have a bit of it. But for most, they're just tennis players."

Thus, Novak Djokovic remains, even internally, the ultimate reference point. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, on the other hand, attract attention but have not yet reached that status.

Alcaraz and the reality of superstars: "You'd have to book a table for twelve"

The gap between the world elite and the others is not only sporting but logistical. Kovacevic explains it humorously:

"If I wanted to invite Carlos Alcaraz to dinner, I'd have to book a table for twelve."

Agents, coaches, trainers, physios, entourage—the Alcaraz machine is an enterprise in itself.

False intimidation and real fear: the calm of champions

The most unsettling aspect when facing a top-level player is not aggression. It's the opposite.

Kovacevic describes that disconcerting feeling when a favorite approaches an important match as if they were going to play a friendly doubles game.

"If he's super nice, you think: he's not even looking at me. And that's what's most unsettling."

This ability to stay relaxed before a high-stakes battle is often the most worrying sign for the outsider. An invisible but formidable psychological barrier.