Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz in four sets to book his place in the last four of the 2025 Australian Open.
The Serbian star showed once more why he is a class above on the ATP Tour as he battled to a mightily impressive win on Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic beat Alcaraz in an enthralling match on Tuesday’s night session, battling back from a set down to win, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Not only did the Serb take on one of the best players in the world, but Djokovic contested with injury, as he pulled up during the first set.
Djokovic took a medical time-out before Alcaraz comfortably held serve to take the first set.
After the match, Djokovic explained how his injury feels now, and whether he thinks he’ll be fit for his semi-final match.
Novak Djokovic is ‘concerned’ about his fitness ahead of Australian Open semi-final with Alexander Zverev
During his post-match press conference, Djokovic revealed his plans to recover over the next few days.
“The extra day with no match comes at a good time,” he said.
“Yeah, as I said on the court, I have to assess the situation tomorrow when I wake up.
“I will try to do as much as I possibly can with my recovery team, with my physio today, tomorrow, the next few days.
“Probably skip training tomorrow, I’ll see if I’m going to train in two days or not.”
Djokovic went on to admit that he wasn’t too sure how he’ll feel for Friday’s semi-final match.
“I’ll take it day by day, now it’s really about recovery,” he said.
“I’m concerned, I am, to be honest, physically.
“But if I manage somehow to, yeah, be physically good enough, I think mentally, emotionally I’m as motivated as I can be.
“I hope to be able physically to be moving freely and to be able to be ready to play five sets.”
Zverev beat Tommy Paul in the other quarter-final and will take on Djokovic in the last four, a tough test that the Serb is certainly not underestimating.
“Well, I mean, it’s definitely going to be challenging from every aspect,” said Djokovic.
“I mean, I’m playing [Alexander] Zverev, who is in great form, and he is going for his first Grand Slam.
“I mean, I’ve seen him play, I practiced with him as well here, I think he loves the conditions.
“He’s a super dangerous opponent on this surface against anyone.”
Despite his injury concerns, Djokovic is confident of his ability to compete in the semi-finals.
“I don’t think I’m going to have mentally or emotionally any issue to face Zverev or to motivate myself or anything like that,” he said.
Novak Djokovic says latest injury is ‘very similar’ to one he suffered at 2023 Australian Open
Following the match, Djokovic was also asked whether the injury he sustained in the first set against Alcaraz was to his groin or hamstring.
“I’m not going to go into details, but it’s very similar to what I had a few years ago, 2023, to be exact,” he said.
“I haven’t done any tests obviously, I mean, I’ve done tests with the physio when they took me off the court, when I had the medical timeout.
“He strapped me, and then the doctor gave me some medication, so forth, some painkillers.
“That kicked in after 20, 30 minutes, it did help, then I had to take another dose I think at the beginning of the fourth.
“Yeah, now that it’s cooling off, I can start to feel different things.
“Let’s see how it goes tomorrow and day by day.”
Djokovic arrived at the 2023 Australian Open tournament nursing a hamstring injury, taking medical timeouts during his second and third-round matches.
He didn’t let that stop him, however, as Djokovic battled past an injury, and four seeds to take home his tenth title down under.
| Round | Opponent | Score |
| F | Stefanos Tsitsipas [3] | 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 |
| SF | Tommy Paul | 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 |
| QF | Andrey Rublev [5] | 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 |
| 4R | Alex de Minaur [22] | 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 |
| 3R | Grigor Dimitrov [27] | 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
| 2R | Enzo Couacaud | 6-1, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0 |
| 1R | Roberto Carballes Baena | 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 |
Djokovic dropped just one set all tournament as he lifted the trophy after a dominant display against third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
It remains to be seen if Djokovic can repeat the feat this time around, and ascend to the top of the tennis world at Melbourne Park.
He’ll hope to recover in time for his semi-final match against Zverev, which takes place on Friday, January 24.
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