A legend like Novak Djokovic can never be underestimated, not even in the last part of his career. At almost 38 years old, the former world No. 1 left the whole world speechless once again by eliminating Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Australian Open and reaching his 50th semifinal in a Grand Slam tournament.
The 37-year-old from Belgrade played an amazing match from a tactical point of view, dismantling the certainties of his young opponent and prevailing in four sets despite an adductor injury that will be evaluated in the next few hours.
The Serbian ace made the difference in the decisive moments and exploited all the current weaknesses of Carlitos, who seemed to be in control of the match until the middle of the second set before being assailed by doubts and starting to make many unforced errors.
The current world number 7 has proven once again that he is one of the best athletes of all time and that he can go against the laws of time. Almost no one thought he could defeat the 21-year-old from Murcia and the bookmakers had no doubts about the favorite on the eve of the quarterfinals.
His next opponent will be Alexander Zverev in the first semifinal on Friday, waiting for further updates on Nole’s condition.
Djokovic’s live ranking
Meanwhile – thanks to the victory over Alcaraz at Melbourne Park – Djokovic virtually occupies sixth place in the ATP ranking. If he defeats Sascha on Friday, he will move up to No. 5 even surpassing Casper Ruud.
If he were to lift his 11th trophy in Australia, Novak would become world number 4 in the new ranking that will be released on Monday, January 27.
For the moment – however – the Serbian legend is focused only on this tournament and hopes to recover from the adductor injury.
During his press conference, Nole confessed that he is a little worried about it: “I’ll take it day by day. Now it’s really about recovery. I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But, if I manage somehow to be physically good enough, I think mentally, and emotionally, I’m as motivated as I can be.”
Tennis World USA