Novak Djokovic gave Carlos Alcaraz a lesson in GOAT-style ruthlessness

It didn’t take long for Carlos Alcaraz to pinpoint why he lost, and why Novak Djokovic won, their Australian Open quarterfinal, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning.

The reason can be summed up in two sentences:

• When Alcaraz had Djokovic down early, the young Spaniard didn’t step on his neck.
• When Djokovic turned the tables and had Alcaraz down late, the Serbian grandmaster wasted no time closing the door.

“I felt like I was controlling the match, and I let him get into the match again,” Alcaraz said. “I’m going to say that was the biggest mistake that I made today.”

“In the second set I had to play a little bit better just to push him even more to the limit…and I didn’t. I didn’t do it.”

⬆️ WATCH: Alcaraz's full post-match press conference ⬆️

Early on, the signs pointed in what seemed like a logical direction: A victory for youth over age. Alcaraz is 16 years younger than Djokovic, and he had won two majors in 2024, while Djokovic hadn’t won any. So it made sense when his forehand came in heavier than Djokovic’s. When he moved the older man up and back with his drop shot, and left him huffing, puffing and hurting. When he won the first set 6-4. And when Djokovic took a medical time-out for a groin injury that he had picked up while trying to chase down Alcaraz’s rockets.

But as we’ve seen at countless majors, there’s no more dangerous Djoker than a semi-wounded or seemingly defeated Djoker. After the timeout, it was the 37-year-old who grabbed the initiative, and the 21-year-old who failed to keep the pressure on. Djokovic broke to start the second set and, aside from a few spectacular shot-making displays from Alcaraz, controlled the match the rest of the way.

“Somehow managed to win the second,” Djokovic said. “I started to feel better I guess towards the end of the second, beginning of the third. I started to move better.”

There’s no more dangerous Djoker than a semi-wounded or seemingly defeated Djoker.

As Djokovic became more sure of himself, Alcaraz hesitated, unsure of his opponent’s physical status and how best to exploit it. Should he lengthen the points, use more drop shots, go away from his normal game? One minute, as Djokovic limped from point to point, Alcaraz felt as if the match might be his. The next minute, he was dealing with a full-strength, ball-battering opponent again.

“It seems like, OK, it’s going to be easier,” Alcaraz said. “At the same time in your mind you’re thinking, like, ‘OK, I have not to make mistakes.’ Probably you’re not hitting the ball the same way that you’re hitting before.”

The irony is that, from a psychological standpoint, Djokovic’s injury made Alcaraz more confused, while making himself more single-minded. The Serb, in a bid to keep points shorter, relaxed and powered through his strokes. He was the guy rifling balls to the corners, tracking down lobs and drops, dipping his passing shots low, and winning extended rallies.

“The medication started to kick in,” Djokovic said. “I felt better and better. I saw that Carlos was hesitant a little bit from the back of the court, so I started to take my chances.”

“Honestly, sometimes it helps,” he said of being injured. “You go through your shots more.”

Alcaraz hung in and, with the approval of the crowd, tried to rally late in the fourth. Yet Djokovic stayed one step ahead of him tactically.

With Djokovic serving at 4-3, Alcaraz cracked two winners and went up 15-40. Then Djokovic, with a veteran’s sense for when to ambush an opponent, got back to deuce by following a kick second serve in and volleying it away.

Serving for the match at 5-4, Djokovic fell behind 15-30. Again, he made a smart and surprising play, going behind Alcaraz with a forehand for a winner. He used the Spaniard’s speed against him.

Before this match, I wondered if Djokovic could replicate his 2024 Olympic gold-medal effort over the course of best-of-five, in a quarterfinal. I doubted it, but I was wrong. He played with an edge, desperation, and self-belief that was similar to what he showed in Paris.

Djokovic let the tennis world know that he’s all-in for his 25th major, and all in for the 2025 season. Along the way, he gave his rival and possible successor a GOAT-style lesson in how to grab your chances by the neck and never let them go.