Alcaraz rues missed chance against Djokovic: “I let him back in. That was my big mistake”

The Spaniard said he felt he should have put his foot down when he saw Djokovic struggling to move at 100 percent early in the second set

Julien Nouet

Simon Cambers

January 21, 2025

Carlos Alcaraz said he let Novak Djokovic back into their quarter-final match at the Australian Open and should have pushed home his advantage when he had the chance.

The Spaniard won the first set and saw that Djokovic struggling with a thigh issue at the start of the second but went down an early break of serve, missing the chance to take total control and eventually going down 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

“I felt like I was controlling the match and I let him get into the match again,” Alcaraz said. “That was the biggest mistake I made today. In the second set I had to play a little bit better just to push him even more to the limit. I didn’t do it.

“I saw that he had issues just moving a little bit in the second set. I had to push him a little bit more just to the limit, and I didn’t do it. After that, I think he started to feel better and playing such a great level. That was my biggest mistake today.

“But obviously when Novak is at this level, it’s really difficult. I think I had my chances. It was a really close match. I think most of the crucial points, it went to his side. I mean, when Novak is playing at this level, it’s really difficult to find the way.

“I think he did great, great hits, great shots. He started to play more aggressively, try not to move so much in the second set. He made few of them, which make him stay up in the set, break up, or stay up. That’s it.”

“These matches help me in the future”

Alcaraz said he still enjoyed the match and the rivalry he’s developing with Djokovic.

“Every time that we play against each other…we push us to the limit,” he said. “I think we’ve played great points, great rallies. It was really tight the third, the fourth set. I mean, the whole match, I guess.

I’m just lucky to live this experience. I’m 21 years old. 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.”