Novak Djokovic fought back after losing a set at 12:57 in the morning and defeated his young opponent Carlos Alcaraz 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4. Entered the Australian Open semi-finals.

In the latest chapter of a generational rivalry played out on the biggest stages, including the gold medal match at last year’s Paris Olympics, the 37-year-old Djokovic maintained his hard-court dominance over Alcaraz to advance to the final. A landmark 50th Grand Slam semi-final against Alexander Zveres.

Coach Andy Murray, who was sitting in the courtside box, also deserves credit as it was a tactical victory, with Djokovic wearing down his opponent’s firepower and spirit before the 21-year-old rallied to score Wonderful ending.

The defeat was a blow for Alcaraz, whose bid to become the youngest Grand Slam champion at Roland Garros and Wimbledon has been mired in trouble and who could only afford an ostensibly third loss to Djokovic. Strange pain.

“First of all, I want to express my highest respect and admiration for Carlos and everything he represents and what he has achieved so far in his young career,” Djokovic said.

“What a great guy he is and an even better competitor… I honestly just wish this game today was the final.

“This is one of the most epic games I’ve ever played on this golf course — on any golf course, really.”

One potential concern for Djokovic was a left leg issue that required treatment in the first set, but his condition appeared to improve as the match progressed.

“Since I’m still competing, I don’t want to reveal too much obvious information,” he said. “There’s no question that the medication is starting to kick in and helping.

“If I had lost the second set, I don’t know if I would have been able to continue. But I was feeling better and better and played some good games to get the second set.

“I saw Carlos hesitate a little bit at the back of the pitch and I took my chance and started to feel better and move better.

“When the medicine wears off I will see tomorrow morning what the reality is. But for now I will try to live in the moment and enjoy this victory.”

It took both men some time to adjust to playing in the cool, windy conditions.

Although Alcaraz hit an incredible volley winner, he dropped serve in the second game due to a series of errors and eventually broke straight back to hit a backhand winner.

The game then continued as usual until the ninth game. After a long confrontation at 15-15, Djokovic knelt down with a frown and shook his head slightly toward his penalty area.

He successfully saved two break points but not the third and quickly left the court to await a medical timeout.

The muscles in his left thigh were clearly visible when he came back, and Alcaraz served well, but Djokovic showed positive signs early in the second set, handing the fight to his younger opponent and winning 3-0. lead.

It was a scrappy match with some good moments from both men, but also plenty of mistakes, with Alcaraz coming back to equalize and Djokovic limping around the court.

Despite his poor health, the Serbian won the title here more than once, playing a brilliant return of serve to break serve again and take the first set.

Djokovic found a real groove on his groundstrokes, especially on his return shots, which put pressure on an increasingly frustrated Alcaraz.

He led 2-3 but hit back straight away, but when Djokovic broke for a third consecutive time, the Spaniard was shouting at himself again, firing a forehand into the corner before putting his fingers to his ears, Soaking up the cheers.

The 37-year-old maintained supreme composure but, trailing 30-0, once again took charge of his orchestra to seal victory.

Alcaraz looked to have lost his mind and another break early in the fourth pushed him to the exit, but on the ropes the Spaniard fought back.

A thrilling 33-shot standoff that left the pair barely standing helped him save virtual match point at 2-4 15-40, but Alcaraz was unable to break Djokovic’s serve and the 37-year-old The player roared with delight after the final backhand shot from the Spaniard.

“Extraordinary performance from Djokovic”

Tim Henman told Eurosport:

“Absolutely phenomenal performance! He definitely looked frustrated after losing the first set – battling injuries, but he got stronger and stronger as the match went on.

“The quality of both players is outstanding.

“Djokovic really showed his experience. I think a lot of people get distracted when they’re battling injuries.

“But actually he knew in his mind how he needed to play, even more aggressively, and he still kept the countdown of unforced errors.

“He was the better player that night.”

Previously, Zverev defeated American Tommy Paul in four sets and reached the Australian Open semifinals for the third time.

The second seed, who is competing for his first Grand Slam title, had lost his previous two meetings with Paul but proved stronger in the clutch, 7-6 (7-1) 7 -6 (7-0) 2 wins. -6 6-1.

The 12th seed Paul served in the first and second sets, but Zverev broke serve each time and played two wonderful tie-breaks.

“I felt like I stole those two sets in a way because he was playing better than me,” Zverev said.

“I played well in the tiebreak. He probably missed a little more than he should have. I’m glad I won in four sets because it was a tough match.”

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