Djokovic Overcomes Early Injury Struggles To Stun Alcaraz At Australian Open
News
Novak Djokovic once again proved why he's the greatest tennis player of all time, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Australian Open.
It was one of the most anticipated matches at this year's Australian Open. The two met seven times before, and almost every time, they delivered a classic.
With each year passing, Alcaraz becomes a bigger favorite in this rivalry, as no one can fight the impact of aging, even Djokovic can't. And that showed also in this match.
The two walked onto the Rod Laver Arena with thousands inside, cheering for their favorite player. Soon enough, fans started chanting against each other, showing their support and creating great scenes.
Maybe also the great support made both players, but especially Alcaraz, a bit nervous at the start. The Spaniard, who got into the quarter-finals after Jack Draper's retirement, was missing a lot at the start of the match.
After Djokovic won his opening service game, Alcaraz's first game on serve was a complete disaster. He made four unforced errors, practically gifting his opponent a break.
From there, however, the Spaniard was able to start increasing his level. Djokovic also helped him a bit in the third game, as he committed a few unforced errors himself, and Alcaraz was back in it.
Both players then held their serve, until 4-3 for the 10-time champion. Alcaraz then started controlling the proceedings, and after holding his serve, he broke his opponent's in the longest game of the first set.
It was in that game that it became apparent that Djokovic was struggling with some physical issues. After losing the game and trailing 4-5, he requested a medical timeout, which had to be carried out away from the court.
After the Serbian player returned, Alcaraz served out the set in a game that lasted only a bit more than a minute, winning the first set of the match 6-4.
With Djokovic's physical struggles, it wasn't clear for how long the match would continue. Although he seemed to be hampered, he won the Australian Open with an injury before.
At the start of the second set, the 37-year-old player started risking more, implementing serve and volley in his game. That and Djokovic's overly aggressive approach on his opponent's serve seemed to be working.
The Serbian player won his first service game to love, and after hitting a few spectacular winners, he broke Alcaraz's serve to have a one-break lead like he did in the opening set.
This time, he didn't lose it immediately and increased his advantage to 3-0. But Alcaraz then shifted gears again and broke back as players changed the ends at 2-3 from the Spaniard's point of view.
The 21-year-old player then had to battle for his serve in the next game, which was the longest of the second set. Djokovic had multiple chances, but he was also grimacing a lot in between the rallies, once again drawing attention to his physical state, which was the main worry when it came to the Serbian.
Alcaraz tried his best to ignore his opponent's struggles, but he felt the pressure, committing a double fault, which gave his opponent a break point. He was able to save it with a precise and fast serve, and after that level the score of the set at 3-3.
Both players held their serve for some time, but that was until the Spanish player had to serve to stay in the match. Djokovic put him under a lot of pressure, and Alcaraz couldn't handle it. The Serbian player won the game to love, breaking his opponent's serve and winning the second set 6-4.
At the start of the third set, it was "Game on" again, and it showed. The level of the match significantly increased, and players produced some exceptional rallies.
Djokovic was able to get to many more balls than he did before, but despite having two break points on Alcaraz's serve, he couldn't break.
The Spaniard is known as someone who often struggles with nerves, and that showed in the third set when he was down 2-3. Two unforced errors and a double fault practically gifted Djokovic a break, and the Serbian suddenly found himself leading 4-2 in the third set.
Although Alcaraz was able to break back, he was immediately broken back, and Djokovic's experience and resilience powered him to win the third set 6-3.
The Spaniard was visibly frustrated by losing his lead in the match, while Djokovic heavily celebrated. The Serbian used the momentum also at the start of the fourth set, breaking to have a one-break lead again.
Djokovic led already 4-2 when his opponent seemed to be in control of his service game, leading 40-15. But that's when the 37-year-old started a comeback in the game and worked his way to a break point.
Both players refused to give up when fighting for that point, producing a sensational 33-shot rally, which Alcaraz ultimately won. He then also won the next two points to win the game, making it 3-4 from his point of view, but Djokovic still had a one-break advantage.
For a moment, it looked like that would be the turning point in the match, as Alcaraz had two break points in the following game, but it wasn't enough for the Spaniard.
Djokovic held his serve, and he was just too good in the remainder of the match, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a semi-final meeting with Alexander Zverev at the 2025 Australian Open.
The Serbian legend once again defied the odds, beating not only his injury from the start of the match but also all of Alcaraz's efforts.
