Carlos Alcaraz reveals biggest mistake in quarterfinal vs Novak Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz was knocked out of the Australian Open 2025 after losing to Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinal of the competition. Alcaraz reviewed his game and revealed his biggest mistake in the game.

In Short

• Carlos Alcaraz gets knocked out of Australian Open 2025
• Alcaraz loses to Djokovic in a 4-set encounter
• Djokovic wins despite struggling with injury early on

Carlos Alcaraz's Australian Open 2025 campaign came to a halt on Tuesday, January 21, after the Spaniard lost a 4-set battle against 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz was beaten despite winning the first set of the match in commanding fashion. Reviewing the game at the press conference, Alcaraz said that his biggest mistake was not pushing Djokovic to the limit in the second set when the latter was struggling with an injury.

After being battered in the first set of the quarterfinal fixture, Djokovic took a medical timeout. After attending to his groin injury on the left leg, Djokovic returned and managed to win the second set. Alcaraz, at the time, was guilty of multiple unforced errors, which helped Djokovic stay afloat in the game despite not looking his best.

Speaking at the post-match press conference, Alcaraz said that he felt like he was controlling the game but made the mistake of letting the Serbian sneak into the match. After winning the second set, Djokovic became near-unplayable, finishing tough rallies with panache against the Spaniard. In the third set, Djokovic was especially dominating, winning it 6-3. Alcaraz tried his best to make a comeback in the fourth set but did not recover after being broken in the first game.

“Well, honestly, I felt like I was controlling the match, and I let him get into the match again. I'm going to say that was the biggest mistake I made today. In the second set, I had to play a little bit better just to push him even more to the limit. Yeah, he saw that he had issues just moving a little bit in the second set," Carlos Alcaraz said after the match.

"I had to push him a little bit more, just to the limit, and I didn't. I didn't do it. After that, I think he started to feel better and played at such a great level. That was my biggest mistake today. But obviously, when Novak is at this level, it's really difficult. I think I had my chances. It was a really close match. I think most of the crucial points went to his side. I mean, when Novak is playing at this level, it's really difficult to find a way,” he added.

DJOKOVIC TALKS MOMENTUM SHIFT

Djokovic himself spoke on the shift of momentum in the second set. The undisputed king of the Australian Open explained that Alcaraz dropping his form after the second set had a lot to do with the mental strength of the player. Djokovic said that he started feeling better with every game after the second set, and that perhaps put Alcaraz on the backfoot as he was unsure about how his opponent was still able to push despite getting injured in the first set of the match.

"I understand it's not comfortable to play against someone that you don't know if he's going to retire or not... Is he moving? Is he running? I felt he was looking at me more than he was looking at himself," Djokovic said.

"He was trying to play at some point quite a few drop shots and make me run. I've been in situations, as well, where an opponent's struggling with injury, but keeps going. The opponent is going for everything, and then he's staying in the match. Then all of a sudden, as the match progresses, the opponent feels better. You're starting to panic a bit with your game. I understand the feeling. Yeah, as I said on the court, I tried to understand how I felt. I didn't feel great in the second set, but I went for my shots. I was really close to the line and just had to be more aggressive," he added.

"As I said in my previous answer, I felt better and better as the match progressed, particularly at the end of the second set and the entire third set till mid-fourth set. That was the best I felt in terms of movement after that injury. I felt like it wasn't restricting me as much, to be honest. I felt pretty much normal," concluded the Serbian star.

Djokovic will take on Germany's Alexander Zverev in the semi-final of the tournament.