Carlos Alcaraz will not win the Australian Open this year either. There is no doubt that the AO is the Grand Slam tournament in which the Spaniard struggles the most to play his best tennis, as evidenced by the fact that he has never gone beyond the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park.
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His 2025 run came to a halt against Novak Djokovic ten-time champion of this tournament who overturned the quarterfinal match after he seemed to be in great physical difficulty between the first and second sets.
The Serbian legend's injury to the adductors distracted the 21-year-old from Murcia, who allowed his opponent to come back and no longer found the necessary solutions in the third and fourth sets. The current world No. 3 made many more unforced errors than usual and his progress with the serve evaporated during the match.
An important lesson
A loss that will certainly induce a lot of reflection in Carlitos' team, which has shown all the weaknesses that have characterized it up to this point in his career. The 4-time Grand Slam champion is indeed immensely talented, but he continues to make the same mistakes in certain circumstances and this explains his distance from the top position in the ATP rankings.
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The former world No.1 will be back in action in Rotterdam in less than two weeks, aiming to improve his level on the indoor hard court. He then played the prestigious Doha ATP 500, before defending his title in Indian Wells (where he has triumphed in the last two editions).
Speaking on Eurosport, former American ace Jim Courier commented on Carlos' loss to Nole in Melbourne: His best day is probably the best day of anyone in mens tennis right now. But his worst day is a level below Novak and Sinner, and thats what he needs to lift up.
These matches are exceptions to the rule. He cant play normal tennis and beat Novak. Hes not as experienced as Novak is, but Novak wasnt at his age either.
These are lessons hell pick up and hopefully make him a better player.
