Novak Djokovic placed on a masterclass as he battled by a thigh damage to outsmart Carlos Alcaraz and declare a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win within the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinal. Nevertheless, American tennis legend John McEnroe was not fully satisfied with the damage concern that Djokovic confirmed in the course of the first two units of the match, sparking a conspiracy idea, earlier than Alcaraz produced an ambiguous comment within the post-match presser.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz reacts after dropping his quarter remaining match towards Serbia’s Novak Djokovic (REUTERS)
Within the opening set, after Alcaraz earned the break again following a sluggish begin, Djokovic first confirmed indicators of wrestle. He didn’t really feel comfy shifting across the court docket and opted for a medical timeout at 4-5 down within the first set. The discomfort continued even within the first half of the second set earlier than he put all doubts to mattress as he scripted a come-from-behind win towards Alcaraz.
In the course of the first signal of an damage wrestle, McEnroe mentioned on air that he wasn’t fairly satisfied, reckoning it wasn’t real and rapidly warned Alcaraz to not be “fooled” by Djokovic.
“This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine,” the seven-time Main winner mentioned, earlier than he informed Alcaraz: “Don’t be fooled.”
Though Djokovic misplaced the opening set after the match resumed publish the damage delay, he soared to a 3-0 lead within the second set and wrapped it up in fast time to degree the match.
After Djokovic restored parity, Patrick McEnroe requested his brother on commentary: “Did you see this coming?” And John replied, “Yes.”
It wasn’t simply the John who felt Djokovic’s damage wasn’t real. Veteran India tennis star Purav Raja speculated the identical in the course of the post-math dialogue on Sony Sports activities Community as he contradicted the Serb’s admission that the medicine he obtained in the course of the timeout “kicked in after 20, 30 minutes.” He additional mentioned: “All I can say is that Alcaraz is definitely not happy with that. Well, especially after he lost that third set.”
Alcaraz weighs in on Djokovic’s damage
The 21-year-old was requested within the post-match presser in regards to the degree in Djokovic’s recreation within the first two units and within the remaining two. Whereas he didn’t clearly communicate a lot on the identical line as McEnroe, however admitted that it was for all to see the huge distinction in his degree of recreation earlier than and after the medical timeout.
“I think everybody saw in the second set he was struggling a little bit [with] moving,” mentioned Alcaraz.
“I don’t know if it was more running to the forehand or running to backhand, but obviously he was struggling. Then the third and fourth set, I didn’t see anything bad from him. So I’m not saying, like, he made a show.
“I am simply saying that, I do not know, it is apparent and everyone noticed it that he was struggling within the second set. Then the third and fourth set he confirmed he was actually good.”