“Expected,” Netizens slam Novak Djokovic for taking a medical time out in his heavyweight Australian Open clash against Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz battle it out at the Rod Laver Arena as they seek to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open.

“Expected,” Netizens slam Novak Djokovic for taking a medical time out in his heavyweight Australian Open clash against Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic (via X)

Undoubtedly, Novak Djokovic has had a good run at the Australian Open but now faces a difficult task against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals. The Serbian looked to be struggling after the first set and his dream of winning the Melbourne Grand Slam for the 11th didn’t look good as he requested a time-out.

Djokovic is seeking to win his 25th Major crown in Melbourne. He tried doing so last year but fell to Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, but this year, he aims to go two steps forward. He currently faces Alcaraz at the Rod Laver Arena. The Spaniard is pushing to become the youngest men’s player to achieve a Career Slam if he does win the Australian Open.

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Both players are fighting it hard on the court; both Alcaraz has been the better player. The Spaniard didn’t waste time to take the lead 5-4 after blitzing to 40-0 in a flash. But, after that, Djokovic looked to be struggling with an injury and had to call for a medical timeout, which lasted three minutes.

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The Serbian returned back to the court, and Alcaraz did well to wrap the set 6-4 within seconds to take the match into his stride. It will be interesting to see how Djokovic will react in the second set despite his injury. The Serbian cannot be written off as he has always proved he can overcome tough challenges like this.

Meanwhile, this is not the first time Djokovic has lost the first set at the Australian Open. He did that in the first round against Nishesh Basavareddy but did well to come from behind and claim the victory. He has been ruthless in his last two matches beating Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.

Fans react to Novak Djokovic lengthy medical timeout against Carlos Alcaraz

Fans on social media have reacted to the lengthy medical timeout awarded to Novak Djokovic. The Serbian was seen talking to a physio while down 4-5 in the match against Carlos Alcaraz as he looks to be struggling with an injury. He was getting treated and guzzled some painkillers before leaving the court.

Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz
Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz (Images via Open Source/X)

Fans on X were displeased with Djokovic’s medical timeout as they felt he was wanting to drop the tempo of the match.

We’ve seen this trick before from him.

A fan reacted on X

Here are other fans’ reactions:

Djokovic needs to win the tie against Alcaraz as that will be a statement victory for him and against his critiques. The former World No.1 has failed to win a tour-level title in over a year and has always been stopped by young players like Alcaraz.