Novak Djokovic didn’t exactly have an auspicious start to his latest Australian Open foray. Controversy dogged him even as he had yet to set foot in Melbourne Park. In a GQ article published three days before the curtains were drawn on the year’s first major tournament, he could not help but look to his 2022 deportation with bitterness; he even speculated that he was poisoned during his detention at an immigration hotel in an attempt to overturn his ban.
Interestingly, Djokovic didn’t fare much better once he got to the court; he looked rusty and, for lack of a better term, playing to his age. He dropped his opening set in his opening match, never mind that he faced a wild card entrant. He then lost another set to a qualifier in his second round encounter. In other words, he was far from his normal invincible self Down Under. Which, for all intents, was why he headed into his quarterfinal round clash with familiar foe Carlos Alcaraz as a heavy underdog.
In doing battle against the tournament’s third seed, Djokovic again found himself behind the eight ball. On paper, and certainly given the way the contest was unfolding, Alcaraz appeared to get the better of him. It also didn’t help that he suffered an injury that required him to take a medical timeout right before he ceded the first set. Still, he found a way to compete, and, ultimately, to win — not coincidentally in Rod Laver Arena, from where he claimed his record 10 Norman Brookes Challenge Cups.
No doubt, Djokovic leaned on his experience to keep Alcaraz at bay. At 47, it’s by far his biggest — and perhaps last remaining — advantage over the 21-year-old wunderkind. He took the last three sets of the Round of Eight set-to 6-4, 6-3, and 6-4 on the strength of a more aggressive style of play. And not for nothing was it his fourth victory in their last five meetings, the gold medal encounter at the Paris Olympics included. In his box, old rival and new coach Andy Murray beamed with pride.
Up next is yet another uphill climb against World Number Two Alexander Zverev. Djokovic being Djokovic, however, it’s evident that he deems himself superior as he preps for Friday’s match. Is he “overrated” and “a has been,” as local broadcaster Tony Jones dared describe him? Or is he still among “the best players that probably ever touched a racket,” as his would-be opponent noted? The answer draws near.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
