Carlos Alcaraz won his first Monte Carlo Masters title on Sunday with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-0 victory over the Italian Lorenzo Musetti.
The fifth-ranked Djokovic struggled to find his rhythm in a 6-3, 6-4 loss to Chilean Alejandro Tabilo in the second round, making an inauspicious start to his clay season.
Carlos Alcaraz said Sunday that the pressure to reclaim the world number one ranking from the suspended Jannik Sinner has had a negative impact on his form this season.
The Spaniard world number three, speaking ahead of the Miami Open, said he had not been given any notice of the legal case from the Professional Tennis Players' Association (PTPA) or the strongly-worded statement issued on Tuesday.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz said he was too focused on what weapons British left-hander Jack Draper might bring and unable to calm the pre-match jitters that prevented him from rising to the occasion.
World number three Alcaraz had too much weight of shot off both flanks for his opponent, who retrieved valiantly but lacked the weapons to topple the top seed.
"He has lost only four or five matches in the past year, so it's crazy. I know people say who's better out of us. They say Jannik is better or some say me. It's all discussion."
The 10-time Melbourne Park winner Djokovic outlasted the younger Spaniard 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a semi-final with Alexander Zverev.
Ageless Novak Djokovic won an epic generational clash against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday to stay on track for an 11th Australian Open title with Alexander Zverev next in the semifinals.
Four-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz made short work of China's Shang Juncheng on Saturday, defeating him in straight sets to breeze through to the Shanghai Masters third round.
The four-time Grand Slam champion from Spain edged a captivating final 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) for his fourth ATP crown of the year and 16th overall.
Jannik Sinner ignored the bubbling controversy over his steroid case and a roaring home crowd to set up a China Open final against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
Carlos Alcaraz welcomed the addition of Rafa Nadal to Spain's Davis Cup team for the quarter-finals in November and hoped the event in Malaga will not mark the end of the 22-times Grand Slam champion's career.
"I'm too far away from that level," he said. "I hope I'll reach it one day, but it's really impossible," said Alcaraz.
"It was a huge thing when I played him for the first time," said the world number three. "The other times for me were kind of a nightmare."
Alcaraz lost 6-1, 7-5, 6-4, ending his bid to become only the third man in the modern era to win the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open in the same season.
Sinner marked his return to the courts for the first time since it was revealed he had failed two drugs tests, coming back from a set and break down to defeat Mackenzie McDonald at the US Open.
Alcaraz won his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows in 2022. He's piled up three more since then, including this year's French Open and Wimbledon.
"I'm human, the nerves had accumulated and sometimes it is very tough to control when there is that tension. I will work so that it doesn't happen again."
