Novak Djokovic beat young rival Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 in a gladiatorial battle worthy of a title clash to charge into the Australian Open semi-finals on Tuesday and remain in the hunt for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

In the latest chapter of a generational rivalry that has played out on the biggest stages, including last year’s Olympic final in Paris which Djokovic won, it was the 37-year-old who maintained his hardcourt dominance over Alcaraz.

Defeat was a blow for the 21-year-old Spaniard as the French Open and Wimbledon champion’s bid to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam went up in flames, and he was left to digest his third loss to Djokovic on the surface.

“I wish this match today was the final,” said Djokovic, who next takes on German second seed Alexander Zverev in what would be a men’s record 50th major singles semi-final for the Serb.

“It’s just one of the most epic matches that I’ve played on this court, on any court, really. So thank you all for staying at 1 a.m. to watch us and support the players.”

Some loose shots at the start of the match put Alcaraz on the back foot but he fired a magnificent backhand winner to pull back a break and was rock solid from there, vaulting to a 5-4 lead in a physical opening set after Djokovic made an error.

Having dropped his serve for a second time, Djokovic took an off-court medical timeout and returned with his left thigh taped up, but the seventh-seeded Serb could not prevent Alcaraz from holding to love with a big ace at the end to clinch the set.

“Since I’m still in the tournament, I don’t want to reveal too much, obviously,” Djokovic said.

“The medication started to kick in, and they helped. No doubt, I had to take another dose. I mean, this sounds awful. Me taking another dose. If I lost that second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing, but I felt better and better.”

AGGRESSIVE DJOKOVIC

Djokovic was far more aggressive in the second set and made several forays towards the net to reel off the first three games before producing a spectacular backhand overhead smash assisted by the net cord at one point, but Alcaraz pulled level at 3-3.

The momentum shifted again as Djokovic heaped the pressure on the third-seeded Spaniard with heavy ball-striking to claim the second set and drew massive cheers from the Rod Laver Arena crowd when he broke for a 4-2 and then 5-3 lead in the third.

Playing like a much younger version of himself, 10-times Melbourne Park champion Djokovic showed surgical precision to claim the set before breaking early in the next one to tighten his grip on the match.

Alcaraz won an incredible 33-shot rally to rescue a break point while down 4-2 in the fourth set and smiled as he gasped for air but Djokovic used all his experience to seal the win in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

“God knows when we’re going to go to sleep,” said Djokovic.

“I guess the key is recovery for me. To be honest, that’s all I’m thinking about. The extra day with no match comes at the perfect time for me.

“Let’s see if it’s going to be good enough on Friday, hopefully I can come out and feel my best because Sasha (Zverev) is playing some of the best tennis he has played.

“We have an agreement, as long as I play he’s going to let me win Grand Slam matches,” Djokovic said with a smile.

-Reuters

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Novak Djokovic has alleged that he was “poisoned” with lead and mercury in his food while being detained briefly in Melbourne in 2022, shortly before his deportation on the eve of the Australian Open.

The former world number one had his visa revoked and was ultimately expelled from Australia due to his refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. During his legal battle to stay, Djokovic was held in a detention hotel.

“I had some health issues. And I realised that in that hotel in Melbourne, I was fed some food that poisoned me,” Djokovic told GQ magazine in a detailed interview published on Thursday. “I had some discoveries when I came back to Serbia. I never told this to anybody publicly, but discovered that I had a really high level of heavy metal. I had lead, a very high level of lead and mercury.” 

When asked whether he believed the contamination came from the food provided to him, Djokovic responded, “That’s the only way.” Djokovic declined to elaborate further when questioned on Friday in Melbourne about any potential evidence connecting his elevated heavy metal levels to the food served in detention.

However, he did not backtrack on his claim. “The GQ article came out yesterday … I’ve done that interview many months ago,” Djokovic said while preparing for another attempt at an 11th Australian Open title and 25th Grand Slam victory. “I would appreciate not talking more in detail about that because I’d like to focus on the tennis and why I am here. If you want to see what I’ve said and get more info on that, you can always revert to the article.”

A spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Home Affairs stated that individual cases could not be discussed “for privacy reasons.” However, the government maintains that the Park Hotel, where Djokovic was held, follows a lease agreement ensuring freshly prepared, individually portioned meals for detainees. According to the department, catering staff at the hotel have food safety certifications, and as of 31 December 2021, food samples from every detainee meal were retained by the contractor responsible for detention services. 

They also noted that detainees were provided with a variety of nutritious, culturally appropriate options meeting specific medical or dietary requirements. Breakfast items such as bread, cereal, noodles, tea, and coffee were available around the clock. Despite the controversy surrounding his deportation, Djokovic emphasised he harbours no resentment toward Australians. He returned to Melbourne the following year and claimed the Australian Open title.

“A lot of Australian people that I met in Australia the last few years or elsewhere in the world, have come up to me, apologising to me for the treatment I received because they were embarrassed by their own government at that point,” he shared in the GQ interview. “And I think the government’s changed, and they reinstated my visa, and I was very grateful for that.”

“I actually love being there, and I think my results are a testament to my sensation of playing tennis and just being in that country,” he added. However, Djokovic noted that he has not encountered the officials responsible for his deportation. “Never met the people that deported me from that country a few years ago. I don’t have a desire to meet with them. If I do one day, that’s fine as well. I’m happy to shake hands and move on.”

-Inside The Games

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Jannik Sinner who won the 2024 US Open, begins his Australian Open title defence against Nicolas Jarry while women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka takes on 2017 U.S. Open winner Sloane Stephens after the draw for the year’s first Grand Slam was made at Melbourne Park on Thursday.

Novak Djokovic launches his latest bid for a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and 25th Grand Slam crown against U.S. wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy but his path to the Melbourne Park final will not be an easy one.

In the third round, Djokovic could face Reilly Opelka, the big-serving American who beat the Serb in Brisbane this week, while third seed Carlos Alcaraz is a potential opponent in the quarter-finals.

Spaniard Alcaraz, who added the French Open trophy to his collection in 2024, begins his campaign to capture the one Grand Slam that has eluded him when he meets Alexander Shevchenko.

World number one Sinner must hit the ground running after being paired with Chilean Jarry, who beat the Italian in their first meeting in 2019 and took him to three sets in a losing effort in Beijing last year.

Women’s second seed Iga Swiatek plays Katerina Siniakova while third seed Coco Gauff faces an early challenge against fellow American Sofia Kenin, the Australian Open champion in 2020.

Paris Olympics gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, runner-up last year, meets a qualifier first up and is on a collision course with Sabalenka in the quarter-finals.

Two-times champion Naomi Osaka meets Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia in a rematch of their first-round encounter last year which the Japanese player lost in straight sets shortly after her return to the tour from a long maternity break.

There are question marks over Osaka’s fitness, however, after an abdominal injury forced her to quit while leading Clara Tauson in her first WTA final in almost three years in Auckland on Sunday.

Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who has struggled with injuries since losing to Djokovic in the 2022 Wimbledon final, is due to take on Jacob Fearnley but his return to Melbourne Park remains in doubt due to an abdominal strain.

Fellow Australian Alex de Minaur has a difficult opener against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp, who stunned Alcaraz at last year’s U.S. Open.

The main draw gets underway on Sunday.

–Reuters

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