Australian Open 2025: On epic night ageing Serbian master outplays young Spaniard

MELBOURNE – Above, on a cloudy Melbourne night, not a star was to be seen. No matter, for in the cauldron below, two glittered for three hours and 37 minutes. On Rod Laver Arena an ageing master met a young champion in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and a shining battle of intensity and intelligence broke out.

Fists were shaken, teeth bared, ovations given and 33-shot rallies endured. In the end, Novak Djokovic, 37, despite an injury to his left leg, was still standing and Carlos Alcaraz, 21, had gone home. The greatest player of all time is no longer No. 1 but on this night he was still the better one. The Serbian No. 7 seed upset the Spanish No. 3 seed to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

The Serb roared, hugged his phlegmatic coach Andy Murray and packed his rackets. They still do things we can’t quite believe. “I wish,” the Serb said later, “this match today was the final.” Its quality was high and its emotion turbulent and he described it as “one of the most epic matches I’ve played on any court”.

Drama began before seats were properly taken. Alcaraz hit an astonishing backhand volley but found himself broken in his first service game. Next game, he broke back with a silky backhand down the line. The Spaniard was spectacular, the Serb solid. Alcaraz had 13 winners in the first set but also 13 unforced errors. In a way he was blunting his own beauty.

Shots hit edges of lines and fans sat on edges of seats. Serbs waved flags and fans shouted in Spanish. Djokovic was returning like a savant, Alcaraz moving as if his shoes were greased. Then drama. Late in the first set, Djokovic seemed to pull something in his leg, his serve was broken to 4-5, a trainer was called, a medical timeout taken and his left thigh strapped. In his secretive way he refused to divulge what precisely had happened.

Alcaraz took the first 6-4 and owned the momentum, but minutes later Djokovic was leading 3-0 in the second. When he’s hurt, the Serb famously reaches deep, as if pain is a provocation. He might give the Spaniard 16 years in age but he has 20 more Grand Slam titles. When Plan A doesn’t work, he pulls out a set of cards and calmly chooses another method.

The medicine kicked in and so did Djokovic’s IQ. He brought controlled aggression to the court, spanked second-serve returns, shortened points and punctured the Spaniard’s dominance by putting him on defence. The dictating Serb seized the second set and the crowd settled in. Epic is what they had prayed and paid for.

Djokovic is prickly, he takes serious offence at a TV host’s tasteless joke, spars with a foolish spectator and divides people with his manner. Maybe the first casualty of the athletic twilight is a lost sense of humour. But what matters is that his will is breathtaking and his spirit stubborn. And on the night of Jan 21 he arrived at that masterful place where precision marries idea.

“Great things are done when men and mountains meet,” wrote William Blake but also when champions collide. On court, the temperature rose, tension thickened and skill level leapt higher. In the third set, the Serb kept pushing like a brilliant bully, finding errors from the Spaniard, creating constant break points before he broke to 4-2.

Momentum stolen? Hardly. A game later, Alcaraz had broken back to 3-4. Only for the Spaniard to scream as Djokovic broke him again to 5-3. This was two fighters standing close and throwing punches. But Djokovic has won this title 10 times and he knows how to inflict damage. The third set was his 6-3 and suddenly his leg was no longer an impediment. Shining form dulls pain.

Alcaraz won his last two Grand Slam finals against Djokovic, but has never beaten him on hard court. The Spaniard won their Wimbledon final last year but fell to the Serb at the Olympics. Yet for all the data we mine, sport is often about the day. Who seizes control? Who is less flustered? Who doesn’t blink? Djokovic had the sharpest answers and the meanest questions.

By the end the Serb’s movement was so slick it was hard to say who was the younger man. He broke Alcaraz in the first game of the fourth set and then saved a break point on his serve by winning a 21-shot rally. Nothing was left for him to do except walk on water.

Forty Spanish unforced errors to 27 by the Serb was one difference, but this match was about little moments and Djokovic seized them. He won six of 13 break points, Alcaraz only four of 11. Great players are divided by chances taken.

Later the graceful Spaniard said, “I felt like I was controlling the match and let him get into the match. That was the biggest mistake I made.” Give the game’s finest player an inch and often he takes the trophy.