Novak Djokovic Downs Error Prone Alcaraz To Reach Australian Open Semi-Finals - UBITENNIS

Novak Djokovic Downs Error Prone Alcaraz To Reach Australian Open Semi-Finals

Novak Djokovic is into a 12th Australian Open semi-final after ending Carlos Alcaraz's career Grand Slam hopes.

By Tony Fairbairn
5 Min Read
(@eurosport - Twitter)

Novak Djokovic reached the Australian Open semi-finals after overcoming Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4.

The Serb is into the last four in Melbourne for the 12th time in his career after overcoming the world number three.

Alcaraz produced a number of errors as career Grand Slam bid will have to wait another year after Djokovic.

Djokovic will now play Alexander Zverev for a place in the Australian Open final.

In the opening stages it was Alcaraz who was the most tentative and nervous as he produced a flurry of errors to give Djokovic the early break at 2-0.

There was a quick response from Alcaraz as the Spaniard immediately broke back, bringing a variety of power and finesse to the court.

Both players went toe-to-toe after that as Djokovic was feeling confident on return and tested Alcaraz’s serving thoroughly.

However Alcaraz came up with all the answers and broke in sensational style to take a 5-4 lead as Djokovic was struggling with an injury.

An off-court medical time-out from Djokovic saw play disrupted but Alcaraz remained calm to close out the opening set in 54 minutes.

In the second set Djokovic got off to the perfect start by once again breaking the Alcaraz serve as the Spaniard was the enemy of his own downfall.

The Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion continued to grind on return and would break back in the fifth game with some heavy forehands, causing Djokovic to commit more unforced errors.

However Alcaraz was strangely inconsistent on serve and Djokovic took full advantage to break to love for the set as he asked for the crowd to be more involved in the match.

No lessons were learned from Alcaraz in the third set as he was forced to save three break points in his first two service games.

The world number three produced some efficient serving to fend off more pressure from the ten-time champion but ultimately it was more errors that would cost the Spaniard.

A backhand into the net from Alcaraz gave Djokovic a 4-2 lead as he seized control of the second set but this rollercoaster match would continue with its current pattern.

A flurry of crisp Alcaraz backhands and forehands saw the Spaniard be more aggressive as he immediately broke back.

There was too much inconsistencies from Alcaraz’s point of view and those moments of aggressive play that paid off were too irregular.

Djokovic would soon break back and held in a tense service game, taking a two set to one lead as he pointed his celebrations to certain members of the crowd.

The sustained pressure continued from Djokovic in the fourth set as he broke in the opening game as Alcaraz’s frustrations started to boil over.

In the sixth game Alcaraz put stern pressure on the Djokovic serve with the Serb reacting in the next game with some sustained pressure of his own.

However the real test for Djokovic came in the eighth game when Alcaraz had two break points putting up some consistent pressure on the forehand side.

However some amateur errors from Alcaraz cost him as Djokovic held onto his serve and secured victory with another powerful serve.

After the match Djokovic spoke about his injury, “Since I’m still in the tournament, I obviously don’t want to reveal too much. The medication started to kick in and it helped, no doubt about it. I had to take another dose – I mean this sounds awful that I had to take another one – but I had to,” the Serb was quoted by BBC Sport as saying in his on-court interview.

“If I had lost that second set, I don’t know if I would have continued playing but I felt better and better. I managed to play a great couple of games to close out the second set and then I saw Carlos was hesitant from the back of the court and I took my chances. Then I started to feel better, started to move better and it didn’t bother me or create any hinderance at the end of the match.

“When the medication starts to wear off, I will see what the reality is tomorrow morning. Right now, I will just try to be in the moment and enjoy this victory.”

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