Novak Djokovic beats Carlos Alcaraz to reach Australian Open semi-finals

MELBOURNE, Australia – Novak Djokovic refused to let anything stop his pursuit of a record 25th Grand Slam trophy in the Australian Open quarterfinals. Not a problem with his left leg. Not an early deficit. And not the kid across the net, Carlos Alcaraz, who made things difficult and saw his own bit of history.

Djokovic overcame it all, as he has so often done en route to so many triumphs, to move into the semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the 12th time with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Alcaraz in a sparkling showdown on Tuesday night between a pair of stars born 16 years apart and at opposite ends of their careers.

The action was non-stop, the shots were brilliant, even though the match stretched for more than 3 1/2 hours and almost to 1 p.m. Djokovic ahead 5-2 in the fourth set, allowing him to serve for the win. The 33-stroke exchange was the longest of the night, and when it ended with Djokovic sailing a forehand long, the capacity crowd at Rod Laver Arena went wild. Djokovic reached for his troublesome leg and yelled at his entourage; Alcaraz, chest stretched, leaned against a towel box and laughed.

It only proved to delay the final result.

With his wife, son and daughter cheering in the stands, the No. 7-seeded Djokovic thanks to the kind of remarkable return and flawless groundstrokes against Alcaraz that now-retired rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have handled for years.

Djokovic enjoyed some of his own best efforts in the latter stages, pointing to his ear or kissing or spreading his arms as he puffed out his chest. There was the forehand winner on a 22-stroke point that earned the break for a 5-3 lead in the third set. There was the final point of the set, which included a back-to-the-net sprint to chase down a lob. Alcaraz wasn’t shy either, yelling “Vamos!” and pumps his fists after a particularly flourishing forehand in the fourth set.

On Friday, Djokovic’s 50th major semifinal against no. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, a two-time major runner-up who beat No. 12 Tommy Paul 7-6 (1), 7-6 (0), 2-6 6-1. The other men’s quarter-finals are on Wednesday: no. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. no. 8 Alex de Minaur, and no. 21 Ben Shelton vs. unseeded Lorenzo Sonego.