From one of his biggest rivals to the next….
Novak Djokovic improved to 5-3 against Carlos Alcaraz with a huge win in the Australian open quarterfinals on Tuesday and will now face Alexander Zverev for the 13th time during semifinal action on Friday.
The 37-year-old Serb leads their head-to-head series 8-4, including 5-1 on outdoor hard courts. However, they have squared off just once since 2021–when Djokovic got the job done 7-6(5), 7-5 in the semifinals of the 2023 Cincinnati Masters. Djokovic and Zverev have met three times at Grand Slams and the former has won all three, including a 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(6) success in the 2021 quarterfinals at Melbourne Park.
Head-to-head history is not the only check mark in Djokovic’s favor. His dominance in Melbourne over the years is another huge factor. The 24-time slam champ is 99-9 lifetime at this tournament with 10 titles. As if that isn’t enough, he is playing great right now. Djokovic underwhelmed against Nishesh Basavareddy and Jaime Faria, but he has since raised his level to defeat Tomas Machac, Jiri Lechecka, and Alcaraz.
Zverev has mostly cruised in his most recent bid for an elusive Grand Slam title. The second-ranked German defeated Lucas Pouille, Pedro Martinez, Jake Fearnley, and Ugo Humbert in convincing fashion before scraping past Tommy Paul 7-6(1), 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-1. Paul served for each of the first two sets but failed to get across the finish line on both occasions.
Aside from physicality, Djokovic seems to have every advantage. If the groin issue that appeared to trouble him against Alcaraz is not a factor, the world No. 7 should advance.
I had Djokovic over Alcaraz. There’s no way I’m picking him to lose to Zverev.
Pick: Djokovic in 4
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.