Vintage Djokovic quells Alcaraz challenge to reach Aussie Open semis

Serb faces second seed Zverev, defending champion Sabalenka through with Badosa

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 semifinals 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 hard court 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 semifinal 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 1am 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.”

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 huge 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.

Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka reached the semifinals with a battling 6-2 2-6 6-3 win over Russian 27th seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, as her quest for a third straight title at Melbourne Park gained momentum.

Sabalenka had looked shaky early in her quest to become the first woman to complete a “three-peat” since Martina Hingis from 1997-99 and the top seed had to manage gusty winds and a gutsy opponent to extend her Melbourne win streak to 19 matches.

“Honestly, I was just praying today. I was just praying to put the ball back in these tough conditions,” Sabalenka said.

“We both were trying to put the ball back. It was very difficult to play. She played amazing tennis, aggressive. I'm super happy I was able to somehow magically win this match.”

Earlier, Paula Badosa stunned Coco Gauff to reach her first Grand Slam semifinal and Zverev overcame Tommy Paul to book his ninth.

It was third time lucky for Spaniard Badosa as she finally got past the quarterfinal stage at a major by stunning Gauff 7-5 6-4 to bring a shuddering halt to the third-seeded American's 13-match winning streak.

Gauff's compatriot Paul had the better of the first three sets against second seed Zverev but ended up on the wrong side of a 7-6(1) 7-6(0) 2-6 6-1 scoreline on a steaming hot Rod Laver Arena.

Zverev counted his blessings after reaching the last four at Melbourne Park for the third time in five years, but was in no doubt what the tennis world was waiting for.

“No reason to stay here after you've just witnessed Zverev v Paul,” the German joked to the crowd as he looked forward to the clash between 10-times champion Djokovic and four-times Grand Slam winner Alcaraz.

“It's two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis racket. Novak is the greatest of all time right now, Carlos is going to be one of them.

“It's a privilege to witness it here in Australia. So please, guys do enjoy it.”

Defeats for Gauff and Paul removed two of the five Americans who made it to the quarterfinals with Emma Navarro, Madison Keys and Ben Shelton all in action on Wednesday. 

Reuters