(Video) Novak Djokovic Congratulates Carlos Alcaraz After his Heroic Australian Open Semifinal Win over Alexander Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz is into his maiden Australian Open final after beating Alexander Zverev in five sets.

(Video) Novak Djokovic Congratulates Carlos Alcaraz After his Heroic Australian Open Semifinal Win over Alexander Zverev

Novak Djokovic congratulated Carlos Alcaraz (via X/Jose Morgado/Australian Open)

🔍 Explore this post with:

ChatGPTPerplexityGrok AIGoogle AI

Novak Djokovic physically congratulated Carlos Alcaraz for his semi-final victory over Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open. The Serbian legend had to wait for over an hour and thirty minutes from the scheduled time to begin his semi-finals clash against World No.1 Jannik Sinner at the Rod Laver Arena.

On Friday (January 30), Alcaraz took on Zverev at the Rod Laver Arena. The match was expected to last no more than four hours, but it went on for five hours and thirty minutes. Sinner and Djokovic’s night session match was scheduled to begin before 7:30 pm local time in Melbourne, Australia.

But it was by 8:14 pm local time that Alcaraz booked his spot in his maiden Australian Open final, winning the last three games to beat Zverev 6-4, 7-6(5), 6(3)-7, 6(4)-7, 7-5 after over five hours. After the match, cameras showed thousands of fans in the high session, lined up to get into Rod Laver Arena, while Sinner was seen walking around with his coaching team, waiting for his match.

Djokovic and Sinner finally took to the court 90 minutes later than their expected scheduled time. But before Djokovic took to the court for his match against the Italian star, he had time to congratulate Alcaraz for his impressive victory against Zverev. The former World No. 1 was spotted approaching Alcaraz in the players’ gym as the Spaniard cooled down on a bike while talking with his team.

Djokovic approached Alcaraz and his team and immediately shook hands with the youngster, then went on to shake hands with every member of Alcaraz’s team, including his coach, Samuel Lopez. Before Djokovic left the 22-year-old, he patted him on the back and smiled at him.

Djokovic had retired from his semi-final match against Zverev last year due to injury. The 38-year-old had beaten Alcaraz in the quarter-finals in four sets, but during the process, sustained an injury. Just a few minutes into his match against Zverev, he decided to retire, which gave German the opportunity to reach the final of the 2025 Australian Open.

However, Zverev failed to beat Sinner in the final of the tournament. The German No.1 fell to Sinner in straight sets. It was his third career Grand Slam final on tour, having previously lost to Dominic Thiem and Alcaraz at the US Open and French Open, respectively.

Carlos Alcaraz explained his mental toughness during his win against Alexander Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz made a statement victory against Alexander Zverev to reach the final of the Australian Open. The Spaniard had exited in the quarter-finals of the tournament in 2024 and 2025, but at this year’s edition, he’s on course to make history. He became the youngest player (22) to reach the final of all four Grand Slams.

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

Despite struggling with cramps at 4-4 in the third set and having to just walk in the fourth set, he came back to life in the deciding set. During his press conference, he noted that he overcame Zverev through his perseverance in belief that he has what it takes to win, despite the difficulties in the process:

Believing, believing all the time. I always say that you have to believe in yourself, no matter what, no matter your struggles or what you have been through. No matter anything, you have got to still believe in yourself all the time. I was struggling in the middle of the third set. Physically, it was one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played in my short career. But I have been in this kind of situation and matches before, so I knew what I had to do.

Alcaraz is seeking to become the youngest player to complete a Career Grand Slam. The Spaniard just needs to win one match before claiming the achievement at the Australian Open. Also, this is his fourth consecutive Grand Slam final on tour, and he has won two of his past major finals.

Also Read: Elina Svitolina Seeks Inspiration from Ukraine Victims After Australian Open Exit to Aryna Sabalenka