"Novak Djokovic's possibly most clever player" - Fans react to Serb's addressing Carlos Alcaraz being "distracted" by him at Australian Open

Novak Djokovic spoke up about Carlos Alcaraz being distracted by the Serb's injury during the pair's blockbuster quarterfinal clash at the 2025 Australian Open. The Serb's take prompted fans to deliver their reactions. While some lauded the former No. 1, others urged Alcaraz to focus more on himself instead of his opponent.

Alcaraz looked in the ascendancy after clinching the first set 6-4. Towards the end of the set, Novak Djokovic took a medical timeout and later returned with his left thigh bandaged. From the second set though, the tide turned in the Serb's favor. The record 10-time Australian Open champion went up the gears, and at the same time, the Spaniard's level dropped. Djokovic went on to win in four sets.

In his post-match press conference, the current No. 7 opened up on him capitalizing on a distracted Alcaraz, who himself later acknowledged that the Serb's injury weighed heavily on his mind starting from the second set and affected his overall play.

"I try to use that to my advantage, in a sense, to take the initiative of the rallies and his hesitation. He was trying to play at some point quite a few dropshots and make me run. I've been in the situations, as well, where opponent's struggling with injury, but keep going. The opponent is going for everything, and then he's staying in the match. Then all of a sudden as the match progresses, the opponent feels better. You're starting to panic a bit with your game. I understand the feeling," Djokovic said.

Several fans on X (formerly Twitter) appreciated Novak Djokovic making the most of the opportunity as Alcaraz's performance became erratic. Some also called on the Spaniard to learn from the chastening experience.

"Hate him or love him, he’s possibly the most clever player to ever play the game. His durability is one thing, but he way he turns the game into a chess match when he’s struggling might be his best quality. He literally gets in the opponents head," one wrote.

"If your opponent claims he's injured, you don't get distracted by it, you rather put him to sleep or make him quit. This also happened to Alcaraz in Cincy when Djokovic was struggling physically. He must learn the dark arts of tennis not to use against others but to protect himself," another said.

"This is why is it CRUCIAL for athletes to not worry about external factors outside of their control. You cannot control whether your opponent is injured or not, so therefore you should not let it take energy away from you, because nothing you do will change that," a third fan commented.

One fan revisited the Spaniard's cramp-plagued loss to the Serb in the semifinals of the 2023 French Open.

"If nothing , atleast learn from this drama @carlosalcaraz .Your opponent is not in alien land, they can choose to retire at any time if they can't play and get fckn medical attention.Stop falling for this s**t. No one was generous to you in RG 23 and its not your job to help them," they wrote.

"Hard to argue against his qualities as a player, equally hard to like the guy," another added.

"Alcaraz's mistake to be focusing on his opponent rather than himself," a fan said.

Djokovic will play for a place in the 2025 Australian Open final against Alexander Zverev in the semis. Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz expressed how difficult it was for him to play the Serb at times. The Spaniard also stated how highly he thinks of such experiences in terms of his own development.

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"Novak Djokovic was playing such a great level" - Carlos Alcaraz after Australian Open QF disappointment

Carlos Alcaraz (Source: Getty)

Carlos Alcaraz assessed the quarterfinal clash's momentum shift at a post-match press conference. The Spaniard acknowledged his own flaws while lauding Novak Djokovic's performance. The World No. 3 also said that he would learn from the contest.

"I had to push him a little bit more just to the limit, and I didn't. I didn't do it. After that, I think he started to feel better and playing such a great level," Alcaraz said.

"I’m just lucky to live this experience. From these matches I’m getting so much experience about how to deal with everything. I’m not going to hide. I’ve done great things in tennis already, but playing against one of the best in history of our sport, these kind of matches help me a lot in the future to be better."

The Australian Open remains the only Grand Slam that Alcaraz is yet to win. Meanwhile, Djokovic will play Alexander Zverev in the semis for his shot at glory for a record-extending 11th time in Melbourne.