Novak Djokovic appears to be ageing like a fine bottle of red wine after he secured a place in the Australian Open semi-final for the twelfth time.
Carlos Alcaraz stood in his way and the boy wonder was despatched in four sets. Djokovic overcame an injury to his leg to claim a sound victory that set up a last-four date with Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic mentioned the atmosphere after his latest match. However, he was seriously tuned in for the match against Alcaraz and it’s hard to imagine him not reaching another Australian Open final.
Alcaraz paid tribute to Djokovic after the match and there is a lot of respect. Given how brilliant the Spaniard was at the Grand Slam events last year, many would have tipped him for success yesterday.
However, that wasn’t the case and once again the 24-time Grand Slam champion is the man who everyone in the world of tennis is talking about all over again.
Andy Roddick makes Novak Djokovic claim after win over Carlos Alcaraz
Naturally, talk on the Served podcast was going to come down to this match. It was a remarkable affair that obliterated the TV viewing figures in Australia for this year’s tournament.
The Serb played brilliantly well after losing the first set. John McEnroe doubted whether Djokovic was actually injured or not but regardless, he rolled back the years for three sets afterwards.
Roddick has singled out Djokovic for praise. He felt that this performance highlighted that he’s playing the best tennis that he’s played since his last Grand Slam win at the US Open in 2023.
He said: “I can’t wait to watch this match with Zverev. Novak is in this to win this. This is as good as he has looked in a major, and I know he made the Wimbledon final last year on one leg, since he won the US Open in 2023.
“He is here to win this thing. If you think about the three match loop into this. Machac, 1, 4 and 4. Machac is going to be a top 10 player at some point. Lehecka, 3, 4 and 6. Lehecka is going to be a top 10 player at some point.
“Carlos Alcaraz is going to be a top 10 player of all time and four sets and kind of controlled the match, in terms of pacing points and stylistically in the last three sets. It was a vintage Novak performance, bravo.”
Novak Djokovic run to the US Open title in 2023
This was about as emphatic as you can get as far as winning a Grand Slam goes. Djokovic raced through the field and dropped just two sets on his way to glory.
The win was the third Grand Slam title he’d claimed that year. His only blemish in 2023 came at Wimbledon when he lost to Alcaraz to hand him his first SW19 title.
| Novak Djokovic US Open 2023 | Opponent | Score |
| Round One | Alexandre Muller | 6-0, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Round Two | Bernabe Zapata Miralles | 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 |
| Round Three | Laslo Djere | 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 |
| Round Four | Borna Gojo | 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 |
| Quarter-Final | Taylor Fritz | 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Semi-Final | Ben Shelton | 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 |
| Final | Daniil Medvedev | 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 |
Last year, Djokovic was unsuccessful at the Grand Slams. In fact, he reached just one final and lost out to Alcaraz at Wimbledon for the second successive year.
Having won the Australian Open title 10 times, this might be his year in Melbourne again. Zverev is the first obstacle in his way and if he overcomes that challenge, the world number one Jannik Sinner is likely to be stood waiting for him in the final.
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