Alcaraz’s adventure at the Australian Open once again had the quarterfinals as its limit. A year ago it was Zverev and now the person responsible has been Novak Djokovic. The legend is pursuing his eleventh title in Melbourne, the twenty-fifth Grand Slam, his 100th title and the Spanish was the penultimate obstacle. Nole won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and 6-4 in three hours and 38 minutes. The German awaits him in the semifinals. They had never seen each other on a hard court in a Grand Slam and the Balkan caused the best Alcaraz not to appear in the Rod Laver. It seemed that Carlitos did not quite believe it and that Djokovic, on the contrary, settled down as the match progressed until he became a wall that gave back everything and that the service rescued in the most demanding situations.
The “win predictor”, the same device that predicted that Nadal would not be able to beat Medvedev in 2023 with everything against him, was betting on Djokovic, 56-44. And it’s not that the Serbian started the game like a shot. If he scored a break in Alcaraz’s first turn of serve, it was more because the Spaniard did not have his sights adjusted with his forehand. It was a simple oversight because the first wild exchange (26 blows) was the sign that Carlitos had arrived. Among the keys were two fundamental elements, one in each racket. If Alcaraz’s right ran as usual, the Serbian was going to suffer. For the Balkan, a reliable service was essential if he wanted the Spaniard to have any doubts. Carlitos was also very clear that the more he moved the Serbian, the more reasons for optimism. The 37 years, on the way to 38, and the three hours more on the track than Alcaraz had to be noticed at some point. And to all that we must add attitude. If with four of a kind and 30 of a kind, the opponent looks at the stands and laughs… well that’s what Alcaraz did seconds before scoring his second break. Nole, who had already taken some strange steps as if he had some muscle discomfort, asked for a medical time. Real annoyance, tactical move? The fact is that the one from El Palmar scored the first set with a white game and a direct serve.
Djokovic had returned with a cumbersome bandage on his left thigh. The fact is that he returned to action, getting into the game with his teeth. He added a blank game, Carlitos was weak with the serve and the Serbian showed that he did not want to know anything about temporizing, he achieved a break and went ahead with 0-3. The current Alcaraz needs more than a couple of pushes to decenter him. Djokovic was more aware of this than anyone else and that is why he openly went on the attack. The one from Belgrade went in search of the winning shots that he had not been able to find in the first set. But his tennis did not have enough depth to unbalance Carlitos who added three games in a row. The situation of the first set was repeated again and thus they also reached the ninth game, with four equal. Djokovic this time did not hesitate. Without brilliance, but with bomb-proof reliability, he scored his serve and added a break with a blank game. The movie started again.
Alcaraz was forced to regain his rhythm so that the Serbian’s confidence did not increase. At least he was able to abort Nole’s break point in the second game. The good thing for Carlitos is that the match was balanced and it seemed that the Belgrade player was going to the limit, but… Djokovic reduced the error quota and added a break in the sixth game, although he was not able to defend it with his next service. The match definitely went crazy because Djokovic already began to subtract everything, accumulated another break and earned the opportunity to close the set with his serve. He did not let this opportunity slip away. And he did it with an impossible point for being almost 38 years old. He reached a poisonous drop by Alcaraz, responded to a lob from the Spaniard with another deep ball and crossed a lethal passing on the rise of Carlitos. He was the same old Djokovic.
The one from El Palmar put his hand on his right thigh during the break between sets. It was more of a reply to Djokovic’s gestures than real annoyance. The problem wasn’t there. It was that Djokovic, little by little, had gotten into Carlitos’ head. The player who hardly makes mistakes, the one who gives everything back, was grateful for an error with Alcaraz’s forehand to start the fourth set with a break. On Alcaraz’s second serve there was a black hole. Nole confirmed the break with his serve and put the Spaniard on the brink of the abyss. Carlitos did not give up. He had a break point in the fourth game, but there was no way to find the cracks for the Belgrade player. And on his next serve, which lasted 10 minutes, he was in agony, but managed to keep it. The drama no longer left the headquarters. Alcaraz survived a 33-punch exchange to stay in the match, but he needed more. I needed a break to stay alive. And it was close. He was 15-40 in the eighth game, but… the serve. The key to the game rescued him in time. In the first opportunity he had to close the pass to the “semies” with his serve, he resolved it. Alcaraz’s first title in Melbourne will come, but he will have to wait.