Novak Djokovic and new coach Andy Murray plot the downfall of Carlos Alcaraz in Australian Open quarter-final | Tennis News happymamay

Novak Djokovic will resume his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday, in a confrontation between two generations of tennis players.

Djokovic is arguably the greatest player the sport has ever seen, playing in pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam title.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz is at the forefront of tennis’ new wave of rising stars. He’s still only 21 years old, but he’s already won Wimbledon twice as well as the French Open and US Open.

The Australian Open is the only major title outside Alcaraz’s collection as he bids to complete his Grand Slam career this year in Melbourne.

If he can do this, he will be the youngest player ever to achieve this feat.

The quarter-final will take place from 9.30am on Tuesday, which you can do Follow the live blog on Sky Sports Website and application.

Alcaraz won a memorable Wimbledon final over Djokovic in 2023, winning a five-set thriller. The Spaniard dominated Djokovic to win the Wimbledon final again last year.

But Djokovic prevailed in their last encounter, when he beat Alcaraz at Roland Garros in a thrilling Olympic final last summer to claim his first gold medal.

Sky Sports Tennis This is the quarter-final,” said commentator Jonathan Overend “He deserves the final, he deserves any final, and yet they are playing in the quarter-finals.”

“They have had many great battles in the past, particularly the Wimbledon final two years ago, the Cincinnati final from that summer as well which was absolutely amazing and of course the 2024 Olympic final on the clay courts of Roland Garros, which was a great match,” Overend continued. Last season.”

“It was an unbelievable level achieved by these two players. The shooting, the defensive ability, the movement of each of them – never in doubt – and the emotion at the end with Djokovic in tears after completing the gold slam and Alcaraz in tears because he came so close to winning the gold for Spain.

“If we come close to replicating the level of tennis of that day in this match, we will be up against Melbourne.”

“I know my weapons”

This would be the first stage in which they crossed paths in the major.

“I think this is not the right player to play in the quarter-finals,” Alcaraz said.

“Being in the quarter-finals, I will approach the match the same way I did in the previous matches against him, and let’s see.

“I know my weapons. I know I can play good tennis against him, I can beat him.”

“He’s a very dynamic and explosive player. Incredibly talented and charismatic. He’s great to watch but not great to play against,” Djokovic said of Alcaraz.

“I expect a big battle, as is the case in most of our matches when we play each other.”

Murray vs Ferrero: Battle of the coaches

Djokovic has a new source of guidance in this competition, after he appointed retired star Andy Murray as his new coach.

Alcaraz’s coach is Juan Carlos Ferrero, another former world No. 1.

and Sky Sports Tennis “Murray has already beaten Ferrero three times, all in 2009, including at Wimbledon that year,” Overend said.

“They are very astute readers of the game, and we know the excellent work Ferrero has done with Alcaraz over many years, but we are already seeing the influence Murray has had on Djokovic.

“The potential for this fantastic short-term coaching arrangement is there for all to see and Murray will certainly relish the opportunity to plot Alcaraz’s downfall. I think the big question is whether he is trying to manipulate anything in particular.

“What Murray might be able to bring is some subtle adjustments, perhaps to Djokovic’s counter-attacking style.

“We know how good he is, but can he see some holes in Alcaraz’s backline to try to take the lead in rallies and prevent the Spaniard from top of the points.”

Serves Alcaraz

The Spaniard is 16 years younger than Djokovic, so age is on his side but last season his game was somewhat erratic and he is in the process of reshaping his serve.

“This is the first time they have met since Alcaraz adjusted his serve,” Overend said.

“We’ve already seen an increase in speed, an increase in effectiveness, and the changes they made in the off-season have been quite noticeable in the work. Any twitchiness we previously saw from Carlos is gone, it’s much smoother. He seems to be able to generate that ‘pop’ with it.”

“Everything seems to be going hand in hand for him, but will it be effective? That slight increase in his strength against the biggest returner, against Djokovic,” he added.

“I think Djokovic is too good a comeback player to make any particular difference.”

Djokovic will set a record 25th Grand Slam win?

“I think Djokovic has the potential to win and logic suggests his best chance is the next one at the Australian Open, then add the element of Andy Murray and his coaching staff,” he said. Sky Sports Tennis Transgression.

“This is Djokovic’s chance to break the record. He’s three games away from doing it.

“He’ll probably have to beat Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev and Jannik Sinner in back-to-back matches, which will be very difficult, but after I championed him from the start and had a moment of 25 Grand Slam titles and who knows? And maybe he’ll retire right away if he wins the title.” .

“I would choose Djokovic to repeat his feat in Paris and beat Alcaraz again.”

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