Djokovic blows away Alcaraz in AO quarterfinal

Not many times does Novak Djokovic enter a contest as the underdog, let alone at the Australian Open and on Rod Laver Arena, where no player has racked up as many wins as the Serb.

But the 37-year-old, on Tuesday, showed again that even though the next generation has taken over men's tennis, he can't be written off yet. In front of a packed centre court at the Melbourne Park, Djokovic took down third seed Carlos Alcaraz in the blockbuster quarterfinal clash with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win after three hours and 47 minutes of tense action.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic gestures to the crowd after winning the third set during his men's singles quarterfinal match against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz on day ten of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne (AFP)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic gestures to the crowd after winning the third set during his men's singles quarterfinal match against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz on day ten of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne (AFP)

The win saw Djokovic extend his lead over Alcaraz in the head-to-head tie to 5-3, having won both his last two encounters against him, albeit on different surfaces. Alcaraz, on the other hand, is now 0-3 against the Serb on hardcourt surface.

In the windy conditions, Alcaraz used his drop shots to perfection to negate Djokovic, who received a medical timeout for an upper left leg issue at 4-5 in the opening set. The Spaniard hit 13 winners to three from the seventh seed as he bounced back from a sluggish start to take the opening set 6-4 after 54 minutes. He was broken at the start of the match as Djokovic soared to a 2-0 lead, before the 21-year-old gained momentum after he fired a backhand winner at the end of a 26-shot rally to get the break back.

Despite showing signs of physical concern, which saw him struggling to move across in the first set, Djokovic made major adjustments to his game as he raced to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Alcaraz once again earned the break to level at 3-3 after Djokovic erred on overhitting on the forehand win, but the 24-time Grand Slam winner put pressure back on the Spaniard by minimised the length of rallies and upping the aggression from the baseline. He struck 11 winners to take the second set 6-4.

Djokovic, a 10-time champion in Melbourne continued to put Alcaraz under pressure as he struck 11 more winners and comminuted just four errors to win the third set, where he broke his opponent twice.

Djokovic will next face second seed Alexander Zverev, who earlier in the day beat Tommy Paul 7-6(1) 7-6(0) 2-6 6-1 to reach his ninth Grand Slam semi-final.