Djokovic beats Alcaraz at Australian Open for one of 'most epic' wins

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Novak Djokovic had his first set fall behind, struggled through an injury that was not disclosed, and then went on to win the next three, ultimately defeating his rival Carlos Alcaraz in the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinals.

The 3-hour and 37-minute match began on Tuesday, but concluded on Wednesday in Melbourne. With this win, Djokovic became the first men's singles player in the Open Era (which began in 1968) to reach at least 50 Grand Slam semifinals.

"I wish this match were the finals, to be honest," Djokovic said of his 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 Rod Laver Arena win.

The Serbian player made 27 unforced mistakes and successfully cashed in on 6 of 13 opportunities to break serve. In contrast, his opponent from Spain committed 40 unforced errors and converted only 4 of 11 break point chances.

Alcaraz accumulated 50 winners and 10 aces, whereas Djokovic achieved 31 and five in their first-ever meeting at the Australian Open.

This was one of the most incredible matches I've ever played, not just on this court," Djokovic said. "Thanks to all of you for staying up until 1 a.m. to watch us and cheer on the players.

Alcaraz broke Djokovic's serve twice, with the first set resulting in a break. Djokovic, who is ranked seventh, then broke Alcaraz's serve in the second game of the second set and took a 3-0 lead. Alcaraz, ranked third, then won the next three games, including one forced by a break point, and tied the set at 3-3.

Djokovic kept the set alive by holding on his next two serves and breaking Alcaraz in the final game of the set to even the match. He subsequently broke Alcaraz three more times, with the first one coming on his first serve of the fourth set.

"I felt like I was in charge of the match, but he managed to get back into it," Alcaraz said, who hit a 33-shot rally to defend a break point in the fourth set.

That was my biggest blunder of the day. During the second set, I needed to step up my game to really put pressure on him. Unfortunately, I failed to do that. As a result, he began to play much better.

Serbian star Novak Djokovic reported suffering a left leg injury and took medication to treat it, but refused to elaborate on the extent of the injury, citing a desire not to provide an advantage to his next likely opponent, second-ranked Alexander Zverev of Germany.

Zverev defeated US player Tommy Paul, ranked 11th in the world, in another quarterfinal match held on Tuesday in Melbourne. In their previous head-to-head matchups, Djokovic holds an 8-4 advantage.

He is now 5-3 overall against Alcaraz, but has an even 2-2 record in Grand Slam matches against the Spanish player.

Number 20 Ben Shelton from the United States will play number 55 Lorenzo Sonego from Italy in the third men's quarterfinal on Wednesday at Melbourne Park.

One quarterfinal will include No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy and No. 8 Alex de Minaur of Australia. The winners from those quarterfinal matches will then play in the other men's semifinal for a chance to face Djokovic or Zverev in the men's championship final.

With another title, Djokovic could surpass Margaret Court for the most Grand Slam singles championships in tennis history, a record of 25.