Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz are in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia — It’s time for the eighth installment of the riveting intergenerational rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. However, this will be the first at the Australian Open – and the first in the quarter-finals of a tournament; each of the others made either the semi-finals or the final.

“Well, this is not the right player to play in a quarterfinal, I think,” said a laughing Alcaraz, looking forward to Tuesday’s meeting. “But against Novak, for me it’s not going to change anything if I play him (in a) quarter-final or semi-final. Probably changes a little bit if it’s a final, of course. When I’m in a quarter-final, I go to approach the fight the same way I did in the previous fights against him and let’s see.”

Alcaraz reached his 10th career Grand Slam quarter-final, the most drawn by a man before his 22nd birthday, by advancing when Jack Draper, eyeing a 15th, retired with a hip injury after having dropped the first two sets on Sunday afternoon.

Djokovic, who is coached in Melbourne by old rival Andy Murray, did his part on the night at Rod Laver Arena when he had to work a little longer but came through the same 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 ( 4) victory over no. 24 Jiri Lehecka.

Djokovic hit a ball off a wall in the third set, drawing boos and whistles from some spectators. When they made more noise moments later, referee Mohamed Lahyani admonished the crowd in the stands to be more polite to the players.

Otherwise, though, Djokovic had plenty of support, from the Serbian flags in the stands to the sin of his nickname, “Nole,” echoing around the main stadium.

Afterwards, Djokovic skipped the usual on-court interview and instead held the microphone himself, telling the crowd: “Thank you so much for being here tonight. I appreciate your presence and support. See you next round. Thank you very much.” Then he left.

Addressing reporters later in the media room, Djokovic said he wants an apology from the broadcaster of the tournament in the host country, Channel 9, and its employee, Tony Jones. Jones called Djokovic overrated and one has been during an on-air performance at Melbourne Park, where a crowd of the player’s supporters sang.

Djokovic said Jones “made a mockery of Serbian fans and made insulting and offensive comments towards me.”

There is a lot at stake in this tournament for both No. 3 seed Alcaraz, who is 21, and no. 7 Djokovic, who is 37.

Alcaraz is seeking to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with at least one trophy from all four of the most prestigious events in tennis. His four so far have come elsewhere: two at Wimbledon by virtue of victories over Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals, and one each at the US Open in 2022 and the French Open last year.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is trying to claim an 11th title in Melbourne to become the first player in tennis history with 25 major singles championships. He leads the overall head-to-head against Alcaraz 4-3, including a victory in the final at the Paris Olympics last August to secure a gold medal for Serbia.

In the majors, however, Alcaraz leads 2-1.

“If I think about everything he’s done in tennis, I couldn’t play. I mean, 24 Grand Slams, most weeks at No. 1 – everything. He broke almost every record in tennis. I try not to to think about it, when I’m in the fight, I’m just trying to beat him,” Alcaraz said. “I know my weapons. I know that (if) I’m able to play good tennis against him, I’m able to beat him.”

On Sunday, Alcaraz was leading 7-5, 6-1 when Draper decided he could not continue. He had been dealing with physical problems after winning each of his first three matches at Melbourne Park in five sets.

“It’s not the way I want to win a fight, to advance to the next round,” Alcaraz said. “Delighted to play another quarter-final here in Australia, but a little bit sad for Jack.”

Sunday’s match goes down in the books as a win for Alcaraz, his first against a top-20 opponent at the Australian Open. He tied with Bjørn Borg, Boris Becker and Mats Wilander for the highest number of major quarter-final appearances before 22.

Alcaraz’s best run at Melbourne Park was reaching the quarter-finals last year before losing to Alexander Zverev at that time. The second quarter-final on the bottom half of the men’s bracket will be no. 2 Zverev against the 12th-seeded American Tommy Paul.

Paul needed less than 1½ hours to finish a physically diminished opponent who sought help from a trainer. There was no turnaround this time for 66th-ranked Davidovich Fokina, who had won each of his last two matches despite dropping the first two sets in both.

“What he’s done is unreal the last couple of games… To do it twice in a row is amazing,” Paul said.

But Paul won almost twice as many points (85-43) as his Spanish rival.

Paul’s best performance at any Grand Slam tournament was reaching the semifinals at the 2023 Australian Open. He will try to repeat that by getting past Zverev, a two-time majors runner-up who beat No. 14 Ugo Humbert 6-1, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.