By Novak Djokovic produced a vintage performance to beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday, moving one step closer towards winning a record-breaking 25th grand slam singles title.
The Serbian was made to work hard for the win by his young Spanish rival, with the pair engaging in a titanic battle on court which finally ended 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 after three hours and 37 minutes.
“One of the most epic matches I’ve played on this court, any court really,” Djokovic said during his post-match interview.
The 10-time Australian Open champion is bidding to claim an outright record 25th grand slam at this year’s tournament, surpassing Australia’s Margaret Court in the process.
It was Alcaraz who started the better of the pair in what was a hotly-anticipated clash, with the Spaniard winning the opening set to pile the pressure on Djokovic.
The 37-year-old was also struggling with what appeared to be an upper leg injury and was forced to take a medical timeout towards the end of the first set. He returned to the court with his upper left leg taped up.
Trailing the match and managing an injury, Djokovic attempted to shorten the rallies through the second set and it was a tactic that worked – the former world No.1 leveled the scores and began growing into the match.
“Since I’m still in the tournament, I don’t want to reveal too much,” Djokovic said about his injury.
“But the medication started to kick in and they helped, no doubt. I had to take another dose. If I lost that second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing, but I felt better and better.”
Rod Laver Arena was then treated to a magical display of tennis as Djokovic and Alcaraz went toe-to-toe. The moment of the match was perhaps the pulsating 33-shot rally, which Alcaraz managed to win in the fourth set to rescue a break point.
But it was Djokovic who came up clutch in the vital moments, letting out an emotional roar after winning match point.
“I wish this match today was the final,” Djokovic added.
He will now have the chance to rest before facing Alexander Zverev in the semifinals on Friday.
“I guess the key is recovery for me. To be honest, that’s all I’m thinking about. The extra day with no match comes at the perfect time for me,” he said.
“Let’s see if it’s going to be good enough on Friday, hopefully I can come out and feel my best because Sasha (Zverev) is playing some of the best tennis he has played.”
It was a tough defeat for Alcaraz who was bidding to become the youngest man to complete a career slam – an achievement consisting of winning Wimbledon, US Open, French Open and the Australian Open. The latter is the only grand slam the 21-year-old Spaniard has yet to win.
