Nole produced a spectacular comeback to reach the Australian Open semi-final for 12th time.
Novak Djokovic beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarter-finals 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 at Melbourne Park on Tuesday night.
The Serbian star prevailed in a thrilling four-set encounter against the Spaniard in three hours and 37 minutes.
Novak, who added Andy Murray to his coaching team at the start of the season, matched Alcaraz in terms of court coverage and power. Though he was down a set and dealing with an upper leg injury, the seventh seed regrouped and turned the momentum in his favour to take the next three sets, breaking the third-seeded opponent six times to improve to a 5-3 record in their ATP H2H series.
“One of the most epic matches I’ve played on this court, any court really,” Novak said after the win. “After the first set I started to feel and move better, managed to play a great couple of games to end the second set, and then I saw that Carlos was hesitant from the back of the court and I took my chances. I guess the key is recovery for me now. That’s all I’m thinking about. The extra day with no match comes at the perfect time for me. Hopefully I can come out in the semifinals and feel my best.”
Match statistics: aces (5-10), double faults (3-5), winners (31-50), unforced errors (27-40), total points won (135-126).
Novak will face German second seed Alexander Zverev (8-4 H2H) on Friday.
Djokovic is bidding to win his 25th Major title and 100th career trophy.
Photo: Profimedia
