Novak Djokovic produced high-quality tennis to beat Carlos Alcaraz by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open on Tuesday. The Serbian broke Alcaraz’s serve early into the opening set but the Spaniard was able to get his service back.
The youngster then once again broke the Serbian’s serve and took the first set. Alcaraz was once again broken early in the second set as Djokovic took a 3-0 lead. However, the four-time Grand Slam achieved parity at 3-3 but Djokovic equalized despite struggling with an injury.
The third set was once again a see-saw battle but the 10-time Australian Open champion sealed it with a brilliant set point. The pendulum kept swinging from one way to the other but Djokovic made the most of his experience to qualify for his 50th Grand Slam semifinal, becoming the first man to do so in the Open Era.
“I want to say my utmost respect and admiration for Carlos, everything he stands for and what he has achieved so far in his career,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “What a terrific guy he is, and an even better competitor. Youngest ever No. 1 in the world, four Grand Slams, and I’m sure we are going to see a lot of him… Maybe not as much as I would like, but he is going to be there for sure longer than me. I just wish this match today was the final, honestly.
“It’s one of the most epic matches I have played on this court, on any court really.”
The Serbian revealed that the medications he received during the medical timeout helped him comeback in the second set.
“The medication started to kick in, and it helped no doubt. I had to take another dose, it sounds awful, but I had to,” Djokovic said when asked about his medical time-out. “If I lost that second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing, but I felt better and better. I managed to play a great couple of games to end the second set. I saw that Carlos was hesitant from the back of the court, and I took my chances. I started to feel and move better.
“It didn’t bother me towards the end of the match [the pain], only in that second set. When the medications start to release I will see what the reality is tomorrow morning. Right now, I will try to be in the moment and enjoy this victory.”
Djokovic will next face Alexander Zverev in the semifinal on Friday.
