After beating Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the 2025 Australian Open, 10-time champion Djokovic told Serbian media that despite being 37 years old, he is used to being questioned without any reason.

"A lot of people have doubted me all their lives. People are constantly trying to belittle my achievements, but that's the price of being a very successful athlete. This is even more true for me because of where I'm from, and for a million different reasons. It doesn't discourage me, on the contrary, it motivates me to prove to others and to myself that I can still win on the biggest stage. Today, I proved it again. Djokovic said.

The Serbian will face world No. 2 Zverev in today's semifinals, and he's excited about the challenge the German will bring. If he can overcome Zverev, he will likely face world No. 1 Sinner in the final.

"It's not the end of the race, I probably have a tougher task ahead of me. In order to win the title, I probably need to beat the third, second and first players in the world. I'm looking forward to these challenges and it's opportunities like this that keep me competing. The 24-time Grand Slam champion added.

Djokovic appeared to be plagued by a leg injury in the first set against Alcaraz, but eventually won 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4, updating the head-to-head record to Djokovic leading 5-3. As expected, he did not train at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.

"The adrenaline is so strong that it's hard to fall asleep after a game like this." Speaking to Serbian media a few minutes after 2am local time in Melbourne, Djokovic said: "Every night game, I usually go to bed around 3am, obviously this time it will be later because I have a lot of work to do, with Mirjan [Amanovic, physiotherapist]." That's necessary because we need to assess the injury and treat it as quickly as possible. That's my main task for the next game – to stay in physical shape, because a win like today's will keep you mentally motivated. ”

As is the case with many top players, Tuesday night's quarter-final clash between Djokovic and Alcaraz ultimately hinges on a few key points. If Alcaraz can break his opponent's serve at a few deuces in the fourth set, the match will likely go to a decider.

However, as he has done many times in his career, Djokovic's serve helped him hold on to the lead and ultimately emerge as the winning side. On match point, Djokovic doubled in at 187 km/h under intense pressure, one of the fastest serves of the match, to win the point.

In fact, the second serve of both players could be the difference between the outcome of this match. Djokovic won 58 per cent of his points on his second serve, compared to Alcaraz's 33 per cent, a rather undesirable figure for a player who usually wins on key points. The performance of the second serve clearly affected Alcaraz's overall rhythm of the game, especially in the face of strong pressure from Djokovic.

Part of that was thanks to Djokovic's aggressive return in the second, third and fourth sets, and he struggled to cut back on the rounds in order to control the tempo of the match. The other part was due to the pressure of the scoreline, and Alcaraz clearly felt a huge challenge from Djokovic. However, the most fundamental reason was Alcaraz's poor service form that day, which greatly reduced his threat. Although he shot 80 per cent of his first serve in the fourth set, and despite only six second-serves, he won only two of them, and two of those points came in the game where he was broken. Such a serve undoubtedly affected his performance at crucial moments.

Djokovic's victory was undoubtedly a bright spot, but there was also a significant shadow hanging over him in his upcoming matches. At the end of the first set, Djokovic suffered a left thigh injury and immediately called a medical timeout to put a bandage on his leg. As the effects of the drug began to take effect, Djokovic was gradually able to move around the field painlessly and caused Alcaraz a lot of problems.

After the win, Djokovic entered the recovery phase, however, the 37-year-old is still plagued by injuries that could affect him to his full potential.

"The day off came at the right time. Like I said on the pitch, I'll have to assess the situation tomorrow and see how the recovery goes. I try to do my work with my team, with physiotherapists, today, tomorrow, and for the next few days, maybe not training. I'll see if I get back to training in two days. Djokovic revealed his thoughts, "Now it's really about focusing on recovery. I'm a little worried, honestly, a little worried about my body. But if I can get back to enough physical condition, mentally, I will maintain maximum motivation. ”(Source: Tennis Home Author: Spark)