"I feel for him" - Novak Djokovic makes brutally honest admission about taking advantage of hesitant Carlos Alcaraz at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic opened up about Carlos Alcaraz's hesitation against him during the pair's 2025 Australian Open quarterfinal clash on Tuesday, January 21. The Serb won the blockbuster encounter 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, but at one point, it seemed as if the Spaniard would be the one to come out on top.

Finding himself at 4-5 down in the first set, Djokovic took a medical timeout, citing problems with his movement. Even though the 24-time Grand Slam champion eventually lost the set, he recovered in time to be at his devastating best across the second, third, and fourth sets. Meanwhile, a seemingly shell-shocked Alcaraz couldn't make the necessary adjustments and ultimately lost the match.

In his post-match press conference, Novak Djokovic sympathized with Carlos Alcaraz. According to the Serb, the Spaniard found it perplexing to play against him because of his injury concern.

"Look, I feel for him. I understand that it's not comfortable to play someone that you don't know if he's going to retire or not. Is he moving? Is he running? What's happening? I felt that he was looking at me more than he was looking at himself. I was just trying to be, yeah, self-observing what's going on in my body and at the same time focus on every point in every game and try to hold my serve and put pressure on him. That's what happened," Djokovic said.

The former World No. 1 added:

"I put myself in a position where I could possibly break. I broke his serve at 5-4. It was good enough to clinch the set. Then set all, and you start to feel better. He starts to hesitate, to play with a bit more hesitation from the back of the court. He was missing a bit more. I started to play more freely."

Alcaraz also spoke up about his mistake that led to his downfall against the Serb in the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinals.

"I let Novak Djokovic get into the match again" - Carlos Alcaraz on Australian Open 2025 QF loss

Carlos Alcaraz (Source: Getty)

At his post-match press conference, Carlos Alcaraz assessed his performance against Novak Djokovic in the 2025 Australian Open quarterfinals. The Spaniard acknowledged that he allowed the Serb back into the contest.

"Well, honestly I felt like I was controlling the match. And I let him get into the match again. I'm going to say that was the biggest mistake that I made today," Alcaraz said.

Djokovic's next challenge is to overcome No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinals. Meanwhile, Alcaraz's wait for a maiden Australian Open title goes on. The Spaniard has so far achieved glory at all the other Grand Slams.