MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥� It's time for the eighth installment of the riveting, intergenerational rivalry between and . This one, though, will be the first at the 鈥� and the first in the quarterfinals of a tournament; each of the others came in either a semifinal or final.
鈥淲ell, this is not the right player to play in a quarterfinal, I guess,鈥� a grinning Alcaraz said, looking ahead to Tuesday's encounter. 鈥淏ut facing Novak, for me, it鈥檚 not going to change anything if I鈥檓 playing him (in a) quarterfinal or semifinal. Probably change a little bit if it is a final, obviously. Being in a quarterfinal, I鈥檓 going to approach the match the same as I did in the previous matches against him, and let鈥檚 see.鈥�
Alcaraz reached his 10th career Grand Slam quarterfinal, tied for the most by a man before his 22nd birthday, by advancing when 15th-seeded Jack Draper stopped playing because of a hip injury after dropping the first two sets Sunday afternoon.
Djokovic, who is being coached in Melbourne by , did his part at night in Rod Laver Arena, needing to work a little longer but getting through just the same with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 24 Jiri Lehecka.
Djokovic smacked a ball off a wall in the third set, drawing boos and whistles from some spectators. When they made more noise moments later, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani admonished the folks in the stands to be .
Otherwise, though, Djokovic had plenty of support, from the Serbian flags in the stands to the chants of his nickname, 鈥淣ole,鈥� that reverberated around the main stadium.
Afterward, Djokovic dispensed with the customary on-court interview, instead holding the microphone himself and telling the crowd: 鈥淭hank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your presence and the support. I鈥檒l see you next round. Thank you very much.鈥� Then he walked off.
There is plenty at stake at this tournament for both No. 3 seed Alcaraz, who is 21, and No. 7 Djokovic, who is 37.
Alcaraz seeks to become the with at least one trophy from all four of the most prestigious events in tennis. His four so far came elsewhere: by virtue of wins over Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals, and one apiece at the U.S. Open in 2022 and the French Open last year.
Djokovic, meanwhile, is trying to claim an 11th title in Melbourne to become the first player in tennis history with 25 major singles championships. He leads the overall head-to-head against Alcaraz 4-3, including a last August to claim a gold medal for Serbia.
At the majors, though, Alcaraz leads 2-1.
鈥淚f I think about everything he has done in tennis, I couldn鈥檛 play. I mean, 24 Grand Slam, the most weeks at No. 1 鈥� everything. He almost broke every record in tennis. I鈥檓 trying not to think about that when I鈥檓 in the match. I鈥檓 just trying ... to beat him,鈥� Alcaraz said. 鈥淚 know my weapons. I know that (if) I鈥檓 able to play good tennis against him, I鈥檓 able to beat him.鈥�
On Sunday, Alcaraz was ahead 7-5, 6-1 when Draper decided he couldn't continue. He'd been dealing with physical issues after winning each of his first three matches at Melbourne Park in five sets.
鈥淚t's not the way I want to win a match, to get through to the next round,鈥� Alcaraz said. 鈥淗appy to play another quarterfinal here in Australia, but a little bit sad for Jack.鈥�
Sunday's match goes into the books as a victory for Alcaraz, his first against a top-20 opponent at the Australian Open. He pulled even with Bjorn Borg, Boris Becker and Mats Wilander for the highest number of major quarterfinal appearances before 22.
Alcaraz's best run at Melbourne Park was getting to the quarterfinals last year, before losing at that stage to Alexander Zverev. The other quarterfinal on the bottom half of the men's bracket will be .
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AP tennis:
Howard Fendrich, The Associated Press
