Novak Djokovic: “I wish Alcaraz match was the Australian Open final”

Novak Djokovic wishes his Australian Open quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz had been the final of the tournament.

Djokovic defeated the third seed 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 after a gruelling three-and-a-half-hour match to book a place in his 50^th grand slam semi-final.

The Serbian spoke to Jim Courier after his win, marking his return to on-court interviews following a boycott after derogatory comments made by Australian presenter Tony Jones.

Djokovic admitted his admiration for “terrific” opponent Alcaraz and suggested that the Spanish star will be the prominent tennis figure in the coming years.

“First, I want to say my utmost respect and admiration for Carlos and everything he stands for and what he has achieved so far in his young career,” said Djokovic.

“What a terrific guy he is and an even better competitor, the youngest ever number one in the world in the history of our sport, four grand slams.

“I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of him, maybe not as much as I would like, but he’s going to be there for sure, longer than me.

“I just wish this match today was a final.”

Djokovic refuses to reveal extent of Australian Open injury concerns

Djokovic will play world number two Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, but the Serb will have some fitness concerns heading into the match.

The seventh seed was forced to take a medical timeout midway through the first set following an apparent thigh injury, but he was quick to stress it “didn’t create any hinderance.”

“Since I’m still in the tournament I don’t want to reveal too much honestly,” Djokovic said to a probing Courier.

“The medication started to kick in, they helped no doubt. I had to take another dose, which sounds awful, but I had to.

“If I lost the second set I don’t know if I would have kept playing but I felt better, managed to play a great few games to end the second set and then I saw Carlos was a bit hesitant from the back of the court.

“I took my chances and started to feel better, started to move better. It didn’t bother me, it didn’t create any hinderance towards the end of the match, only in that second set.

“Obviously when the medication starts to release, I’ll see the reality tomorrow morning, but right now I’ll just try to be in the moment and just enjoy this victory.”