Novak Djokovic, the 37-year-old tennis legend, faced criticism when he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final last year. Some believed his time was over. Djokovic, who has won 24 Grand Slam titles, only reached one Grand Slam final last year. Alcaraz (French Open, Wimbledon) and Jannik Sinner (Australian Open, US Open) were the only players to win all four Grand Slams.

However, Djokovic didn’t give up. He won his first gold medal at the Paris Olympics last year and is now just two wins away from his 25th Grand Slam title. In the quarter-final match on Tuesday, Djokovic made an impressive comeback after losing the first set, defeating third seed Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals and keep his hopes alive for a record 25th Grand Slam title.

In windy conditions, Carlos Alcaraz used drop shots effectively to outplay Novak Djokovic, who required a medical timeout for an upper left leg issue at 4-5 in the first set. Alcaraz dominated the first set with 10 more winners than the seventh-seeded Djokovic (13-3).

In the second set, Djokovic increased his aggression from the baseline and adjusted his game to shorter rallies to manage his physical condition. He leveled the match with his 11th winner of the set. Djokovic continued his aggressive approach in the third set, taking advantage of Alcaraz’s errors while the Spaniard was serving, and raised his level during crucial moments to take the lead.

Djokovic also avenged his loss in last year’s Wimbledon final with this victory. The seventh seed has now reached his 50th Major semi-final, where he will face second seed Alexander Zverev of Germany. Zverev defeated America’s Tommy Paul in a three-hour-and-28-minute quarterfinal match, winning 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1.

Sabalenka Advances to Semi-Finals

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka staged an impressive comeback after losing the first set, defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to secure her spot in the semi-finals. She will face her close friend and 11th seed Paula Badosa, who beat Coco Gauff to reach her first Grand Slam semi-final.

Sabalenka, a two-time Australian Open champion, is now just two wins away from her third title in Melbourne. If she succeeds, she will become the first player since Martina Hingis (1997-1999) to achieve a title hat-trick in women’s singles at the Australian Open. Sabalenka won her quarterfinal 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, extending her Melbourne Park winning streak to 19 matches. The match was closely contested at 3-3 in the final set, but Sabalenka won the last three games to seal the victory.

Badosa Ends Gauff’s Run

Paula Badosa defeated third-seeded American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals (Australian Open 2025). Gauff, who came into the match with a perfect 9-0 record this year, had lost only one set in four matches at Melbourne Park. However, Badosa broke her streak and advanced to her first Grand Slam semi-final at 27 years old.

Indian Campaign Ends

India’s Rohan Bopanna and China’s Shuai Zhang lost in the mixed doubles quarter-finals to local wildcards John Peers and Olivia Gadecki. The Indian-Chinese pair missed a match point in the super tiebreaker, losing 6-2, 4-6, 9-11 in one hour and eight minutes.

With this, the Indian challenge at the first Grand Slam of the year has ended. Bopanna had already been eliminated in men’s doubles, while other Indian players, including Sumit Nagal in singles and Yuki Bhambri and N Sriram Balaji in doubles, also exited earlier in the tournament.