Carlos Alcaraz Feels He Could Have Won AO Had He Not Faced 'Unbelievable' Djokovic
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Carlos Alcaraz wishes he could have avoided playing Novak Djokovic in the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinal but remains upbeat after losing to the Serbian.
When the draw for the season's opening Grand Slam was made, millions of fans worldwide hoped Alcaraz and Djokovic would meet in the quarterfinals. The contest between the pair lived up to expectations.
Djokovic recovered from losing the opening set and struggling physically to defeat his younger rival 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Alcaraz looked in control but became distracted by the 24-time Grand Slam champion's physical problems.
That allowed Djokovic to win the second set, and his level was outstanding in the final two sets of the contest. Alcaraz lost them despite playing well and partaking in several outstanding rallies that left the fans inside the Rod Laver Arena gasping.
Alcaraz entered that match against Djokovic in great form, and many viewed him as the favorite to defeat his legendary opponent. Instead, the young star must wait until at least 2026 to secure a maiden Australian Open title.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of the 2025 Rotterdam Open, Alcaraz said facing Djokovic in the quarterfinal was a nightmare. However, the Spaniard took the positives from the match and wants to focus on the future.
"I really wanted to win the tournament and felt I was able to but Novak played an unbelievable match. Facing Novak in the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam is the worst thing. It was a pretty good match. I have tried to take the good things about that match and will look ahead now."
Although looking to the future rather than back to the past is the right approach, the disappointment of losing to Djokovic may have been heightened when the ten-time Australian Open champion retired from the semifinal against Alexander Zverev with an injury.
Alcaraz had no injury concerns at the tournament. Although beating Zverev was far from guaranteed, the 21-year-old would have had a great chance if he had played at the same level as the high-quality quarterfinal against Djokovic.
The four-time Grand Slam may have had similar thoughts after watching Jannik Sinner easily beat Zverev in the final. The German had a great run in Melbourne, but the brutal reality is that he never came close to overcoming Sinner.
Alcaraz is the only man to consistently defeat the ATP world No. 1 in the last 12 months. He has won their last three meetings, excluding the Italian's triumph at the Six Kings Slam exhibition in Saudi Arabia in October.
No one can predict with certainty how an Australian Open final between Alcaraz and Sinner would have ended. However, the pair usually contest epic and close battles, as evidenced by their last three professional matches going to a deciding set.
That evidence suggests a closer final was likely between Alcaraz and Sinner. They will inevitably meet in a Grand Slam final. Hopefully, it will live up to the hype whenever that time comes.
Although Alcaraz has a good recent record against Sinner, he recently dismissed Patrick Mouratoglou's claim that the two-time Australian Open champion is not better than him.
