MELBOURNE, Australia – Novak Djokovic is set to face Carlos Alcaraz in a highly anticipated quarterfinal at the Australian Open on Tuesday. Alcaraz gained from Jack Draper’s withdrawal after two sets of their match, while Djokovic overcame Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4). This will mark their eighth encounter in total and fourth at a Grand Slam, with Djokovic winning in the semifinals at the 2023 French Open, while Alcaraz clinched victory in the last two finals at Wimbledon. Their most recent encounter took place at Roland Garros during the Olympic final last summer, where Djokovic secured a heartfelt first gold medal.
His drop to seventh place indicates that this is the earliest round at a Slam they will have faced each other, with a significant amount at stake for both players. Djokovic aims to secure a historic 25th Slam title, while Alcaraz has the chance to become the youngest player in history to achieve the career Grand Slam. Djokovic, guided by his longtime adversary Andy Murray, started the tournament gradually, losing sets to Nishesh Basavareddy and Jaime Faria.
However, he elevated his game against Tomas Machac in the third round and delivered a remarkable performance against another Czech player, 24th seed Lehecka. The only minor issue arose at the beginning of the third set, when he broke serve but was immediately broken again, while Djokovic appeared once more displeased with the conduct of certain fans. The 37-year-old declined to participate in the traditional post-match interview, choosing instead to take the microphone to express gratitude to fans for their attendance, which elicited loud booing from the crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
Numerous Serbian flags were visible in the audience, and it will be intriguing to observe whom the crowd supports when Djokovic faces Alcaraz. The Spaniard, who has lost just one set up to now, remarked with a grin about the matchup: “I suppose this isn’t the ideal opponent for a quarterfinal.” “In my opinion, during a Grand Slam, from the quarterfinals to the final, those competitors are the top players in the world.” If it weren’t Djokovic in the quarterfinal, it might be another player ranked at the top.
However, when playing against Novak, it doesn’t matter to me whether it’s in a quarterfinal or semifinal. It will likely alter somewhat if it is a final, of course. “Since it’s a quarterfinal, I’ll tackle the match just like I did in the earlier matches against him, and we’ll see.” I am familiar with my arms. I’m confident that I can play well against him and defeat him. The concluding rounds are forming to match the top competitors against one another, with second seed Alexander Zverev also advancing.
The German bounced back after dropping the second set to overcome France’s Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 and will next compete against 12th seed Tommy Paul, who triumphed over a struggling Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.
