The heat sets in, bodies sweat, and Carlos Alcaraz’s string hits balls non-stop, while Juan Carlos Ferrero points out – “better this way, Charlie, better this way!” – and one of the tennis player’s relatives warns during the training session that It takes place on court 16 of Melbourne Park: “It will be complicated, we’ll see, but the fundamental thing will be for Carlos to keep his cool when those difficult moments come; Djokovic makes you play many games within the game and tries to take you where he wants, he makes you think all the time, so you can’t let your guard down at any moment because otherwise, you’re dead.”
This person refers to the Serbian’s virtuosity to find the key, delve into the opponent’s mind and play cat and mouse. And so, 20 years. In 2005, the Serbian set foot in the Australian center for the first time and was dismounted by Marat Safin, champion of that edition, who predicted: “Novak has great potential and his career will be long.” The facts say that he was not wrong because Nole, now 37 years old, on his way to 38, is still here and still fighting as the strongest opposition to the two new and young leaders of the circuit: Jannik Sinner (6-3, 3-6 , 6-3 and 6-2 to Holger Rune) and Alcaraz himself, aware that a greater test is coming.
It is not known how long Djokovic will last, if he will be able to resist the unstoppable wave of the last two wonders or if he will achieve that last great one that he craves so much, the 25th. However, there is evidence of what he has done, how far he has come and that whatever the circumstance, he will always be a superlative enemy. “I guess he’s not the most suitable opponent to play in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam…” jokes the Spaniard, “but I’m going to approach it in the same way as the previous matches against him, and we’ll see. If I think about everything I’ve done in tennis, I couldn’t play against him, so I don’t try to think about that. I only think about winning. “I know what my weapons are.”
It would not be advisable to dwell on the Balkan’s resume, but rather look at the stratospheric statistics to understand the dimension of his empire on hard courts, a terrain in which, after seven matches, Alcaraz has still not been able to beat him. The count says that Djokovic has played 106 matches so far in Melbourne, of which he has won 97; That is, its average is 91.5%, incomparable; They also convey that no male tennis player has registered an 84.6% success rate in fast, so that not even Roger Federer himself (83.3%) has managed to keep up with him; and at the same time, no one forgets that it has won 10 titles here, four of the last six editions.
“He still looks young.”
The concentrated Alcaraz will face all that and more today (around 11:00, Eurosport and Max), convinced of overcoming the barrier to continue hunting and capturing his first trophy in Australia. “Novak is the player who has made the most quarterfinals [61, tres más que Federer] He has played in the Grand Slams. When you see him play, it seems like he’s still young. It’s incredible. What weakness do you have? Few or none,” says the Murcian. “And obviously he has all that experience, but I’m prepared and I know what I need to do. I know what I have to do on clay, on grass, on hard; “This is going to be the first time I play against him in a hard Grand Slam, so let’s see,” he continued.
The two have met so far in four finals (Wimbledon, Cincinnati and the Games) and three semi-finals (Madrid, Roland Garros and the Masters Cup), but the last time, at the Paris Olympics, the Serbian gave a lesson in tennis, strategy and honor. Alcaraz says he closed the wound, but the scar is there, still fresh. In the same way, the number three’s game conveys that he has been assimilating the technical nuances that make up his new serve, his performance endorsed by the fact that he has only lost serve three times, that he has won 81% of the points played. under its first and 59% under the second, exceeding its 2024 average in both sections.
In the last Wimbledon final, the 21-year-old Spaniard only gave up nine points to the Belgrade player with his first serves. “Only a couple of times the battle was unequal between us. That day he dominated, and in the 2023 Finals I did. The matches against Carlos remind me of those I played against Nadal, in terms of intensity and energy,” says Nole, seventh in the world; “Alcaraz is explosive, dynamic, very talented and charismatic. It’s great to watch him play, but not so much to play against him [risas]. When the draw was drawn, many people expected us to meet, and here we are. “We’re both hitting the ball well and I’m feeling good.”
Serving is not the only good argument that El Palmar has in his backpack for this Tuesday’s attractive duel. Nobody counters first serves better, with that 41% exceeding his average of 34%, the most prolific on the circuit over the last calendar year. “When you play against Novak you just have to think about playing and believe in yourself,” he says. “I am one step closer to the title, but I must go step by step and focus on the day to day,” he resolves prudently, without revealing what his initial disposition will be. But Alcaraz does not usually speculate. The path of courage, the best way to approach the giant in his favorite setting.
THERE IS AN EXCUSE, THEN NOLE WILL TALK TO YOU
AC | Melbourne
On Sunday night, Djokovic left visibly affected and without responding to the usual interview on the court. The reason, the adjectives used by a Channel 9 journalist to refer to him: “failed” and “overrated.” “Throw him out.”
The tennis player warned that he would not speak again for said channel, the one that broadcasts the tournament in Australia, until Tony Jones made a public apology for the “offensive comments” towards him and for the “mockery” towards the Serbian fans who followed on site the broadcast.
Finally, Jones apologized, claiming that it was a “joke” and appealing to his “sense of humor.”
