Djokovic sets up Alcaraz match – then swerves interview

Australian Open 2025

Dates: 12-26 January Venue: Melbourne Park

With a convincing victory over Jiri Lehecka, Novak Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to advance to the quarter-final of the Australian Open.

Djokovic continued his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam title with a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win against the Czech 24th seed.

After the Spaniard advanced after British number one Jack Draper retired earlier on Sunday with a hip injury, he will face Alcaraz in the final eight.

Alcaraz has beaten Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, but the Serb got the better of the 21-year-old to win gold at the Paris Olympics last summer – Djokovic’s self-proclaimed “biggest sporting achievement”.

Lehecka threatened to force a fourth set, but Djokovic was soon booed by the crowd, and the 11-time Australian Open champion left Rod Laver Arena quickly.

“Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your support and I will see you in the next round”, the 37-year-old said.

Afterward, Djokovic explained his rationale for skipping the typical on-court interview with Jim Courier, who is a four-time major champion.

He referred to the actions of Channel 9 newsreader Tony Jones, who shouted “Novak, he’s overrated, Novak’s a has-been, Novak kick him out” towards Djokovic fans while live on camera on Friday.

According to Djokovic, a well-known sports journalist for Channel 9’s official broadcaster in Australia, made fun of Serbian fans and made offensive and insulting remarks toward me a few days ago.

“And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology. Channel 9 didn’t like it either.

” So since they’re official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9. I have no objections to Australians or Jim Courier.

During his third-round win over Tomas Machac, Djokovic appeared exhausted at times and needed a medical timeout.

He held on to Machac’s compatriot’s hand in the opening two sets, preventing Lehecka from scoring a break point for more than an hour and 40 minutes.

An agitated Djokovic, who included his former teammate Andy Murray, yelled at Lehecka before complaining about noise coming from the stands as he attempted to serve.

However, the seventh seed made the most of the tie-break, leading the crowd after making an incredible backhand pass and cupping his ear after a skillful volley won the match.

“When you are feeling adversity the last couple matches, I think I handled it well”, Djokovic told Eurosport.

Elsewhere, second seed Alexander Zverev overcame a mid-match blip to move into the last eight with a 6-1 2-6 6-3 6-2 victory over France’s Ugo Humbert.

Zverev, a runner-up at last year’s Roland Garros and the 2020 US Open, has now reached the quarter-final of a Grand Slam on 14 occasions but he has yet to lift a maiden major trophy.