Novak Djokovic beating Carlos Alcaraz at Australian Open is "real validation" of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal & Serb's Big-3: Tennis insider

Journalist Jon Wertheim recently commented on Novak Djokovic's victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open, stating that it was a "real validation" of the Big Three - the Serb, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal. Djokovic is aiming to win a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and his 25th Grand Slam title.

The 37-year-old is seeded seventh at the Melbourne Major and he started his campaign by defeating wild card Nishesh Basavareddy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round and followed it up by defeating qualifier Jaime Faria 6-1, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 in the second round. He then went on to triumph over 26th seed Tomas Machac 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 and 24th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

In the quarterfinal match, Novak Djokovic overcame third seed Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in three hours and 43 minutes to secure his place in the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open.

While speaking on the Tennis Channel, Wertheim, praised Djokovic's win over Alcaraz and said that, a 37-year old defeating a much younger opponent was a "real validation" and a testament to the dominance of the "Big 3" in tennis.

“This is a real validation of the Big 3 and Novak's obviously the big winner. He won that match but the entire generation gets elevated when at age 37 he is still beating guys 15 years his junior,” Wertheim said [2:00].

Wertheim also mentioned that the Serb's win elevated his generation of players

“It really is a sort of a perspective, wait a second these guys were really a peg above when the 37 year old is still beating a kid. So yeah, just a real triumph for Novak and a real triumph, I would say for his whole generation,” he added [2:12].

Prior to starting his campaign at the Australian Open, the former World No.1 competed at the Brisbane International, where he reached the quarterfinals in the singles event before falling to Reilly Opelka. He had also competed in the doubles event alongside Nick Kyrgios.

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Novak Djokovic will face Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open

Alexander Zverev (L) & Novak Djokovc (R) at the 2025 Australian Open [Image Source: Getty Images]

Novak Djokovic will face off against the second seed, Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open.

Zverev defeated the likes of wild card Lucas Pouille, Pedro Martinez, Jacob Fearnley and 14th seed Ugo Humbert in the first four rounds of the Melbourne Major. In the quarterfinals, he triumphed over 12th seed Tommy Paul to secure his place in the semifinals.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion and Zverev have faced each other 12 times on the ATP Tour, with the former World No.1 winning eight of those matches. Their last match-up was in the semifinals of the 2023 Cincinnati Masters, where the Serb claimed a 7-6(5), 7-5 win before going on to defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final to win the title.