Roger Federer’s former coach has claimed that Carlos Alcaraz “lost his joy” this year – with Novak Djokovic being held responsible.

The Spaniard won two Grand Slam titles over the summer but struggled during the North American hard-court swing and didn’t get out of the group stage at the recent ATP Finals.

And Paul Annacone believes things changed for Alcaraz after one particularly crushing defeat to Djokovic.

Despite winning two Major titles, Alcaraz officially ended the year as the world No. 3. The 21-year-old enjoyed some highs – completing the ‘Channel Slam’ by winning the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back and defending his Indian Wells title.

But he also picked up an arm injury in the spring and fell victim to some uncharacteristic early losses, most notably to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open and Gael Monfils in Cincinnati.

Both of those losses came straight after the Olympics, where Alcaraz lost a tight two-set final to Djokovic 7-6 7-6 and was left in tears when he failed to capture the gold medal for Spain. And Annacone believes the timing is no coincidence.

“You have to find out what motivates you, and then you have to stick with that. And I think Carlos Alcaraz is a joyful player,” the American coach said on the Tennis Channel’s Inside In podcast.

“I think part of this year he lost some of that joy, and I think, for a multitude of reasons.”

Although Alcaraz still managed to get his hands on a silver medal at his first Olympic Games, Annacone believes the heartbreaking loss was one of the biggest things that took away his enjoyment.

The current mentor of Taylor Fritz continued: “I actually think one of his biggest accomplishments was one of his biggest hurdles to deal with this year, which is getting ‘only’ a silver medal.

“Which is a great accomplishment, but I think that kind of broke his heart a little bit at the Olympics, and I think that knocked him for a little bit of a tailspin through the rest of the summer.”

Alcaraz did find his groove again in Autumn. He helped Team Europe win the Laver Cup and beat Jannik Sinner in a thrilling final to win the China Open. But he lost before the semi-final stage in his last four events of the year – the Shanghai Masters, Paris Masters, ATP Finals and Davis Cup Finals.

“I thought he recovered when he won in Beijing, but he’s had a couple of losses since then and got sick before the year-end championship,” Annacone added.

“So, it’s been a little choppy for him, but he has such a good head on his shoulders and a great team around him. There’s no reason that that’s not going to be just a blip.”

Alcaraz’s season officially ended when Spain lost their Davis Cup quarter-final tie to the Netherlands on Tuesday. The world No. 3 will now enjoy some time off before starting his pre-season training block.

He will spend a week practising with Jack Draper in Alicante. Alcaraz is also set to compete in some exhibition matches before starting his 2025 season Down Under.