Martina Navratilova salutes Novak Djokovic's 'warrior spirit' after blockbuster win over Carlos Alcaraz at Australian Open

Martina Navratilova took time out from political discourse on her social media platforms to congratulate Novak Djokovic on his stunning victory over Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic completed a historic 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 rout of the young Spaniard, despite suffering a first-set injury that threatened to rule him out of the match and the tournament.

At 4-4 in the opening set, Djokovic cramped up after one particularly long rally and was forced to concede the break to a rampant Alcaraz. He called for a medical timeout after this and was escorted off the court. The Serb returned a few minutes later with his thigh bandaged but was clearly impeded and Alcaraz served out the set comfortably.

That success was to be Alcaraz's best moment of the match, however, as Djokovic steadily played through the injury and took control of the final three sets. It was a performance of true grit from the irrepressible Serb, who moves on to a record-breaking 12th Australian Open semifinal. 18-time singles Major winner Navratilova couldn't hide her admiration for Djokovic's tenacity, stating on X:

"What a win - amazing, truly. Hat off to Novak - what a warrior!"

The Djokovic v Alcaraz quarterfinal concluded at 1 am in Melbourne, and lasted three hours and 35 minutes. Yet the 37-year-old Djokovic showed no signs of wilting under the assault of his 21-year-old opponent, or the Australian conditions, or the effects of the first-set injury which had him grimacing and limping throughout the opening two sets. Djokovic told Jim Courier after the match (4:41 onwards):

"It was unfortunate what happened towards the end of the set for me, but, in that perspective...the way you explain it, I think comparing to the 2023 performances I had, I think it does help mentally because you know, you just all of a sudden start to play a bit more aggressive. You go through your shots more."

---

Martina Navratilova understands the level of focus required at the top of the game

1987 Wimbledon - Source: Getty

No one is better equipped to understand the warrior spirit better than Navratilova, who, like Djokovic, won Major singles titles well into her thirties. She too overcame the challenges of top-quality younger players - for instance, her 1987 Wimbledon title victory over 18-year-old up-and-coming Steffi Graf - so the Czech-born women's legend fully understands Djokovic's achievement.

For his part, Djokovic moves on to a semifinal against No. 2 seed and good friend Alexander Zverev, who's appearing for a third time on the Australian Open's penultimate stage. On the evidence of the Alcaraz match and if Djokovic can stay healthy, he'll be a heavy favorite to reach the final.