Novak Djokovic: Serbian defeats Carlos Alcaraz to remain on course for 11th Australian Open title and 25th Grand Slam | Tennis News happymamay

Novak Djokovic came back from a set down to defeat his young rival Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at 12.57 am to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

In the latest chapter in a generational rivalry that has erupted on the biggest stages, including the gold medal match at last year’s Paris Olympics, it was the 37-year-old Djokovic who maintained his hard-court dominance over Alcaraz to advance to the second round. 50th Grand Slam semi-final against Alexander Zverez.

Coach Andy Murray, who sat in the court area, also deserves credit as this was a tactical victory with Djokovic sapping the firepower and spirit of his opponent before the 21-year-old took the lead in a stunning finish.

The defeat was a blow to Alcaraz as the French Open and Wimbledon champion’s bid to become the youngest player to complete a career Grand Slam went up in flames, leaving him to digest his third loss to Djokovic on the surface.

“First, I want to express my great respect and admiration for Carlos and everything he represents, and what he has achieved so far in his young career,” Djokovic said.

“What a great guy and an even better competitor… I just hope this match today is the final honestly.

“It’s one of the most epic games I’ve ever played on this pitch, on any pitch really.”

A potential concern for Djokovic was a problem with his left leg that required treatment during the opening set, but he appeared to improve physically as the match went on.

“Since I’m still in the tournament, I don’t want to reveal too much clearly,” he said. “The medication kicked in and it has definitely helped.

“If I had lost the second set, I don’t know if I would have continued playing. But I felt better, and I had two great matches to win the second set.

He added, “I saw that Carlos was a little hesitant at the back of the field and I took advantage of the opportunities that were given to me and I started to feel better and move better.”

“When the medicine wears off, I will see what the reality is tomorrow morning. But for now I will try to live in the moment and enjoy this victory.”

Djokovic’s most important achievements

Novak Djokovic is the second man or woman in the Open Era to reach the 50’s singles semi-finals at a Grand Slam event, after Chris Evert (52).

Djokovic has reached his 12th men’s semifinal at the Australian Open, trailing only Roger Federer (15), the most at the event in the Open Era.

Djokovic has reached his eighth Grand Slam semifinal since he was 35, trailing only Ken Rosewall (10).

Djokovic holds the record in direct confrontations with Alexander Zverev, 8-4, at the ATP level, as Djokovic won their last meeting at the Grand Slam level, in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open in 2021.

How Djokovic came back to defeat Alcaraz…

It took both men some time to settle into the contest in the cold and windy conditions.

Despite his impressive victory over Altaïr, Alcaraz lost his serve in the second game amid a series of errors, before he broke his serve directly and hit a successful backhand shot down the goal line.

The contest then continued routinely until the ninth game when, after a long 15-15 lead, Djokovic leaned over and shook his head slightly towards the penalty area.

He was able to save two break points, but he did not save a third point and quickly left the court to take a medical time.

He returned with a visible belt on his left thigh and Alcaraz served the set, but Djokovic showed positive signs at the beginning of the second set, taking the fight to his young rival and taking a 3-0 lead.

The match was tense and witnessed some great moments from both men, but mistakes were many, and Alcaraz came back to equalize while Djokovic was limping around the court.

But the Serbian player won the title here on more than one occasion despite being physically vulnerable and produced a brilliant comeback match to break serve again and win the set.

Djokovic found real skill with his groundstrokes, especially on the return, adding pressure on an increasingly frustrated Alcaraz.

He took a 2-3 lead and responded directly, but the Spaniard was screaming at himself again, so Djokovic broke his serve for the third time in a row and sent a forehand into the corner, then put his finger to his ear while accepting the cheers.

The 37-year-old remained very quiet but led the orchestra again after falling from 0 to 30 to win the set.

Alcaraz looked out of ideas, and another break early in the fourth period pushed him close to being out, but the Spaniard answered back on the ropes.

A powerful 33 shots that left both men barely able to stand helped him save a virtual match point at 2-4, 15-40, but Alcaraz was unable to break Djokovic’s serve and the 37-year-old screamed with delight after a final backhand volley. From the Spaniard hitting the net.

“Exceptional performance from Djokovic”

Tim Henman speaks on Eurosport:

“Absolutely exceptional performance! After losing the first set, he looked down – he was struggling with an injury, but as the match went on he got stronger and stronger.

“The quality from both players was exceptional.

“Djokovic really showed his experience. I think a lot of people, when they had an injury, would have been distracted.

“But actually he was clear in his mind about the way he needed to play, which was more aggressive – and he kept counting down the unforced errors.

“He was the better player that night.”

The story of the tape

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Djokovic vs Alcaraz: Momentum plots

Zverev decides his date with Djokovic

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Alexander Zverev was angry when the referee stopped his match with Tommy Paul because a feather fell on the court

Earlier, German Zverev, ranked second in the world, reached the semi-finals for the third time in Melbourne with a four-set victory over American Tommy Paul.

The second seed, who is bidding for his first Grand Slam title, lost his previous two matches to Paul but proved stronger in the big moments, winning 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-0) 2. -6 6-1. .

Paul, seeded 12th, served in the first and second sets, but Zverev broke back on each occasion and played two excellent tiebreaks.

“I feel like I stole both sets in a way, because he was playing better than me,” Zverev said.

He added, “In the tiebreak, I played very well. Maybe I wasted a little more than I should have. I’m happy that I won in four sets because the match was difficult.”

Watch the ATP and WTA tours, plus the US Open in New York, live on Sky Sports in 2025 or Stream with now and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to more than 50 per cent of live sporting events this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.

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