Djokovic to play Alcaraz in quarterfinals at Australian Open

Tennis stars Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will clash in a huge final-eight matchup at Melbourne Park.

Irrepressible 10-time champion Novak Djokovic has set up a blockbuster Australian Open quarterfinal with Carlos Alcaraz after downing Czech Jiri Lehecka.

The 37-year-old Serb, who is gunning for a record 25th Grand Slam title, beat the 24th seed 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday.

It sent him into the last eight at Melbourne Park for the 15th time, a record he now shares with Roger Federer and one ahead of Rafael Nadal and John Newcombe.

The win also extended his own all-time mark to 61 for most quarterfinal appearances at majors, three ahead of the Swiss great.

His reward is a showdown on Tuesday with third seed Carlos Alcaraz, who is already a four-time Slam winner aged 21 but has never gone beyond the Australian Open quarterfinals.

The Spaniard set up the clash after Briton Jack Draper retired during their last-16 match when losing 7-5, 6-1.

“Being in a quarterfinal, I’m going to approach the match the same as I did in the previous matches against him, and let’s see,” said Alcaraz of Djokovic.

“When we are seeing him playing, he seems like he’s young again, so … It’s unbelievable. He’s in a really good shape.”

But Alcaraz added: “I’m just ready and I know what I have to do in quarterfinals.”

Djokovic and Alcaraz have played each other seven times, with the Serb leading 4-3, including a victory in their last clash in the Paris Olympics final.

They have crossed paths at Grand Slams three times, twice in the Wimbledon decider with the Spaniard winning on both occasions.

But they have never played at Melbourne Park, where Djokovic has achieved his greatest success.

Djokovic dominates while Alcaraz gets an early pass

Lehecka won the lead-up Brisbane International event, where Djokovic lost in the quarterfinals, but he was never seriously in the reckoning on the big stage.

Djokovic quickly put pressure on his serve and achieved a break in the eighth game of set one when the Czech sent down a double fault.

Another break on Lehecka’s opening serve set the tone for set two, with Djokovic dominating from the baseline.

The young Czech changed tactics in a closer set three, pushing Djokovic to the net more while picking up his serving intensity.

It went to a tiebreak where the Serb produced some stunning shots to seal the win.

Against Draper, Alcaraz was well on top when the Briton pulled the pin on a sweltering afternoon because of “multiple areas really in pain”.

The 15th seed Draper needed five sets to win his first three Melbourne matches, rallying from behind in all of them to stay in the tournament, and it finally caught up with him.

“It’s not the way I wanted to win. But obviously, I’m happy to play another quarterfinal here in Australia,” said Alcaraz.

“Physically, I’m feeling great. So coming into the second week of a Grand Slam, it is important to feel well physically because right now the matches are even tougher.”

Briton Jack Draper (R) is consoled by Carlos Alcaraz of Spain as he retires in the men’s singles fourth round during day eight of the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne on January 19, 2025 [Clive Brunskill/Getty Images]