7/10/2023 0 Comments Third man records blue room![]() He broke a hobbled Alcaraz again for a 4-0 lead and it was all but over.ĭjokovic and Alcaraz had met just once before, with the Spaniard taking out the Serb in the Madrid semifinals in 2022 en route to the title. ![]() But Djokovic broke Alcaraz for a quick 2-0 lead in the fourth. I saw that he’s struggling but I didn’t obviously want to think too much what’s going on on the opposite side of the net but again, respect for him and I hope he comes back very quickly.”Īlcaraz left the court after the third set and then returned as the crowd applauded. “I just tried to stay focused, to stay present. “And we went toe-to-toe, I think it was quite an even match, one set all, and then this thing happened with his cramps.and from that moment onwards it was a different match. “Towards the end of the second set, I wasn’t feeling fresh at all,” Djokovic said of his own health issues. He won his first Grand Slam title at the U.S. Djokovic was awarded the third game for a 2-1 lead because Alcaraz couldn’t finish the game.Īlcaraz had won 12 straight major matches but did not play at the Australian Open due to a right leg injury. Soon a trainer was massaging Alcaraz’s left leg as he sat in the chair. As Alcaraz cramped up, Djokovic crossed over to his side of the net to show concern, a rare thing for an opponent to do. It appeared the match was headed toward a dramatic conclusion, but Alcaraz began to have problems with his right hand - and left leg - early in the third. As Alcaraz held up his left index finger in celebration, Djokovic could only smile and clap his hand against his racquet. The early stages of the match featured some breathtaking shot-making, including a jaw-dropping winner by Alcaraz early in the second set in which he raced toward the net to retrieve a Djokovic drop shot and then darted toward the back of the court to somehow turn his body and a hit a forehand passing shot for a winner. He still wants to be winning these things when he’s 40.” “I don’t think Djokovic is going anywhere,” Courier said during the Tennis Channel broadcast of Alcaraz-Djokovic. This match featured the biggest age gap in a major semifinal since Jim Courier beat Jimmy Connors in the 1991 U.S. It's insane, and he's 36.”ĭjokovic himself battled a right arm injury in the semifinal, calling for an injury timeout during the second set, but prevailed against a man 16 years his junior. “And I watched Roger Federer for 15 years. “The more you see him, the more it's hard to say that he isn't the best,” John McEnroe said of Djokovic on NBC. Nadal withdrew ahead of the tournament with a hip injury and said 2024 would be his final season. ![]() Open final to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets.ĭjokovic is currently tied with his longtime rival Nadal at 22 majors. He came within one match of doing so in 2021 but lost in the U.S. Having already won the Australian Open in January - with a torn hamstring - Djokovic would be half way to the calendar Slam if he wins on Sunday. The champion will take home about $2.5 million, while the runner-up earns $1,248,019. ![]()
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