Carlos Alcaraz suffered a second successive defeat to Novak Djokovic as he exited the 2025 Australian Open.
The dream of a fifth Grand Slam title came to an abrupt end for Alcaraz as he lost in the quarter-finals of this year’s Australian Open.
Alcaraz lost to Djokovic in four sets, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 4-6, as he failed to reach his first semi-final in Melbourne.
The Spaniard had grabbed the first set, before an injured Djokovic battled back to win in four, setting up a semi-final clash with German second seed, Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz had matched his previous best performance at the Australian Open, having fallen to defeat against Zverev at the same stage last year, but was left disappointed as he failed to pick up a maiden title down under.
After the match, Djokovic described their clash as one of the best of his career, something that Alcaraz has now reacted to.
Carlos Alcaraz is ‘really happy’ after hearing Novak Djokovic give high praise to their match
During his post-match press conference, Alcaraz was asked how he felt after hearing Djokovic describe their quarter-final clash as one of the best matches he’s played in Australia.
“Yeah, I mean, for me it’s great hearing those words from someone who played historic matches, historic things,” he said.
“So I’m leaving here Australia with the head up.
“I’m really happy about hearing those words from Novak.”
Alcaraz went on to explain just how much he can take from his ever-intensifying rivalry with Djokovic.
“I mean, I’m playing great, great matches, every time that we play against each other, I think it’s [a] guarantee,” he said.
“I mean, we push us to the limit, each other, I think we’ve played great points, great rallies.
“It was really tight the third, the fourth set, I mean, the whole match, I guess.”
“I’m just lucky to live this experience, I’m 21 years old, from these matches I’m getting so much experience about how to deal with everything.
“I’ve done great things in tennis already, but playing against one of the best in history of our sport, these kind of matches help me a lot in the future to be better.”
Carlos Alcaraz falls behind in Novak Djokovic head-to-head
With Tuesday’s defeat, Alcaraz fell further behind in the head-to-head with the 24-time Major champion, with the score now 5-3 in the Serb’s favor.
Djokovic has now won four of their last five meetings, taking control of the inter-generational rivalry.
37-year-old Djokovic beat Alcaraz in the Olympic final last year, just a month after the Spaniard had lifted the Wimbledon title in front of him.
Djokovic extending his lead over Alcaraz will be a worrying sign for the world number three, who has control of most head-to-heads in the ATP top ten.
| Rank | Name | Head-to-head record v Carlos Alcaraz | Last meeting with Carlos Alcaraz |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | 4-6 | L – 2024 Beijing (F) |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | 6-5 | W – ATP Finals (RR) |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | – | – |
| 4 | Taylor Fritz | 0-2 | L – 2024 Laver Cup (RR) |
| 5 | Daniil Medvedev | 2-6 | L – 2024 Beijing (SF) |
| 6 | Casper Ruud | 1-4 | W – 2024 ATP Finals (RR) |
| 7 | Novak Djokovic | 5-3 | W – 2025 Australian Open (QF) |
| 8 | Alex de Minaur | 0-2 | L – 2023 Queens (F) |
| 9 | Andrey Rublev | 1-2 | L – 2024 ATP Finals (RR) |
| 10 | Grigor Dimitrov | 2-3 | W – 2024 Miami (QF) |
Alcaraz has a winning head-to-head record against seven of his nine top-ten rivals, only losing out to Zverev and Djokovic.
Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the two players he has lost to in the last two editions of the Australian Open.
It remains to be seen if Alcaraz can get back on top of either head-to-head, but if he can’t, then he may face more trouble this time next year.
Djokovic and Zverev will face off for a place in the Australian Open final in their last-four matchup on Friday, January 24.
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