Novak Djokovic has cast doubt on his future at the Australian Open just moments after coming back to beat Carlos Alcaraz.
The 37-year-old had to overcome injury to down the 2024 Wimbledon champion, eventually claiming a 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 win in Melbourne to reach the semi-final.
“It was possibly one of the best matches of the tournament on the men’s side,” said Djokovic.
“It felt like a final of a Slam and I wish it was. We both gave it our all.”
Novak Djokovic has thrown doubt over his future at the Australian Open
Eurosport
However, having limped around Rod Laver Arena due to a problem with his left leg, the Serbian has raised doubts over his future at the tournament despite gunning for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.
Having played through the injury aggressively, Djokovic addressed his physical concerns and admitted he nearly retired from the match.
“Well since I’m still in the tournament, I don’t want to reveal too much obviously,” he started.
“But yeah, the medication started to kick in and that helped, no doubt. I had to take another dose. This sounds awful! Me taking another dose. But I had to.
“I didn’t know, to be honest, if I lost the second set I didn’t know if I would continue playing.
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“But I felt better and better, managed to play a great couple of games to end the second set.
“And then I saw that Carlos was hesitant a little bit from the back of the court and I took my chances and started to feel better, started to move better.
“So it didn’t bother me, it didn’t create any hindrance towards the end of the match, only in that second set.
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Novak Djokovic let loose with a roar after winning against Carlos Alcaraz
Reuters
“Obviously when the medication starts to release, I’ll see what the reality is tomorrow morning. But right now I’ll just try to be in the moment and enjoy this victory,” he said, suggesting that Friday’s semi-final might be touch and go.
Having played through the pain barrier, Djokovic started to move more freely by the third set to take control of the tie.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, grew more and more frustrated after losing momentum before losing a truly epic clash that lasted three hours and 38 minutes.
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Novak Djokovic had to play through the pain barrier to defeat Carlos Alcaraz
Reuters
After claiming victory, Djokovic roared in the direction of Andy Murray, who has been employed as the seventh seed’s coach for the Australian Open this year.
Djokovic, who has won the Australian Open a record 10 times, has a much-needed day off before returning to court to face Alexander Zrevev on Friday in the semi-final.
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