Australian Open 2025 as it happened: The king of Melbourne Park does it again: Djokovic defeats Alcaraz in four sets

Melbourne Park’s undisputed king Novak Djokovic has defied a leg injury to defeat Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz in another Australian Open masterclass.

The 10-time champion survived some tricky moments in the final half hour as Alcaraz desperately tried to fight back before completing a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 triumph in three hours and 37 minutes.

Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory over Carlos Alcaraz.Credit: Getty Images

Djokovic looked in trouble when he took an off-court medical timeout after appearing to hurt himself in the ninth game, but he battled on and thrived the longer the match went.

“Since I’m still in the tournament, I don’t want to reveal too much [about my injury],” Djokovic said.

“But the medication started to kick in and it helped no doubt. I had to take another dose … [and] if I lost the second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing.

“I felt better and better and managed to play a great couple of games to end the second set.

“I saw Carlos was hesitant a little bit at the back of the court, so I took my chances and started to feel better and move better, so it did not bother me or create any hindrance towards the end of the match, only in the second set.

“I will see [what] the reality is tomorrow morning. Right now, I will try to be in the moment and enjoy this victory.”

Novak Djokovic of Serbia (R) embraces Carlos Alcaraz of Spain.Credit: Getty Images

Djokovic will get two days off before facing German second seed Alex Zverev in the semi-finals on Friday.

“The extra day with no match comes at the perfect time for me, so let’s see if it will be good enough on Friday,” he said.

“Hopefully, I can come out and feel my best because Sascha Zverev is playing some of the best tennis he has played.”

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Novak Djokovic has refused to completely reveal what his leg injury is but he has strongly hinted it is like the hamstring injured he battled in 2023.

Djokovic said the injury was like 2023 and that he may need tests on it tomorrow.

He has backed himself to perform well against Alexander Zverev, as long as he can be at his best “physically”.

“Now that it is cooling off, I’m starting to feel different things,” Djokovic said.

“I don’t know what will happen the next few days but I’m hoping for the best.”

Coco Gauff’s retooled forehand and serve abandoned her in the worst way and at the worst time at the Australian Open. The unforced errors just kept accumulating Tuesday, and so did the double-faults and break points, often followed by a palm placed over her eyes or a slap to a thigh.

Add it all up, and Gauff’s trip to Melbourne Park — and her 13-match winning streak that dated to late last season — ended in the quarterfinals. Never able to take control on a hot afternoon in Rod Laver Arena, the 2023 U.S. Open champion was eliminated by No. 11 Paula Badosa of Spain 7-5, 6-4.

Using tweaks to some key strokes, and a change to her coaching team after a disappointing end to her title defense in New York in September, the 20-year-old Gauff arrived in Australia with hopes of earning a second Grand Slam title.

“I feel like (at the) U.S. Open, I was playing with no solution, so that was more the frustrating part. Today, I feel like I’m playing with solutions; I know what I need to work on. U.S. Open, I needed to work on my serve. Not saying that my serve is where I want it to be, but I worked on it; obviously, a big improvement. So I want to continue working on that, continue working on playing aggressive,” Gauff said.

“So I feel like I’m on the road to the right way, right path,” she said. “Even though I lost today, I feel like I’m in an upward trajectory.”

The American entered Tuesday with a 9-0 record in 2025; she also won her last four matches of last season to collect the trophy at the WTA Finals in November.

“Just a lot more work to do,” Gauff said after the 1-hour, 43-minute loss to Badosa, who had been 0-2 in Grand Slam quarterfinals. “I’m obviously disappointed, but I’m not completely crushed.”

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Alexander Zverev in action is his Quarter Final win over Tommy Paul.Credit: Chris Hopkins

There was a fun moment when Djokovic looked into the stands and saw his kids were still awake and watching his win.

“I heard your question, but I’m surprised that my kids are still here!” Djokovic said to Nine’s Jim Courier while looking directly up at his family in the stands.

Stefan Djokovic reacts as he watches his father, Novak.Credit: AP

“I love you, thank you for supporting me, but it is 1am – when are you going to sleep tonight?

“They don’t want me to speak about them. OK, back to tennis.”

I think we are all asking ourselves when we are going to sleep, with these amazing matches going well into the early morning.

Novak Djokovic was asked about his leg injury, but he deflected.

“Since I’m still in the tournament, I don’t want to reveal too much, obviously, but the medication started to kick in, and it helped no doubt. I had to take another dose, this sounds awful...,” Djokovic told Nine’s Jim Courier in his post-match on-court interview.

Novak Djokovic after beating Carlos Alcaraz.Credit: Getty Images

“If I lost the second set, I don’t know if I would continue playing. I felt better and better, and managed to play a great couple of games to end the second set, and then I saw Carlos was hesitant a little bit at the back of the court.

“I took my chances and started to feel better and move better, so it did not bother me or create any hindrance towards the end of the match – only in the second set – and obviously the medications started to release.

“I will see what the reality is tomorrow morning. [But] right now, I will try to be in the moment and enjoy this victory.”

Novak Djokovic has praised Carlos Alcaraz for his performance and admitted he was hurting but still found a way to win.

“With my two legs and two arms I guess … maybe one and half legs,” Djokovic said.

“I just wish this match today was the final. I don’t know if Sascha [Alexander] Zverev is still awake and watching.

“This was one of the most epic matches I’ve played on any court, really.”