Carlos Alcaraz halted Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record-setting 25th Grand Slam at the Australian Open.
Djokovic enjoyed the performance of a lifetime to knock out Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, but Alcaraz was a step too far for the tennis icon.
Djokovic teased his final Australian Open appearance after the defeat to Alcaraz with his on-court interview.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, believes that Djokovic has what it takes to win more of the bigger tournaments throughout the season.
Carlos Alcaraz still expects Novak Djokovic to challenge
Alcaraz was full of praise for Djokovic during his on-court interview, and he continued to speak highly of the Serb in his press conference.
The new Australian Open champion revealed: “Well, as I said on the speech, what he’s doing is inspiring. It is inspiring for all the athletes.
Can Carlos Alcaraz win MORE Grand Slams than Novak Djokovic? 🤔
“It’s not only tennis player but all the athletes, even myself, what he’s putting his body and his mind, his life into feel playing a final of a Grand Slam again, going against, you know, every people saying that he was not going to play another Grand Slam final or he was not going to beat Jannik or myself.
“Then he comes and playing such great tennis and beating Jannik in the semifinal, and here in the final played such great tennis. So it’s unbelievable what he’s doing.”
Djokovic was looking for his elusive 25th Grand Slam, which seems to be diminishing with every tournament.
Alcaraz, however, still believes Djokovic has what it takes to challenge at the latter stages of Grand Slams.
“You know, if he maintains this level of tennis during the whole season, he’s going to, you know, win great things. You know, probably Master 1000 again. He’s going to come to a Grand Slam final again.
“It depends how physically he is or how demanding physically is the tournament for him, but I think he’s ready to keep winning the big tournaments in the tour.”
Djokovic’s next tournament has not yet been confirmed, while Alcaraz will next be in action at the Rotterdam Open.
Could Novak Djokovic have played his final Australian Open?
Djokovic’s defeat to Alcaraz was incredibly the star’s first-ever defeat in the Australian Open final in his 11th appearance.
The Serb has won a record-setting 10 titles at the Melbourne event, but he might well have played his last at the Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic would be the undisputed GOAT if he won Grand Slam number 25 – could anyone argue otherwise?
Djokovic refused to discuss his future in his on-court interview, suggesting he didn’t even know what would happen in the next six months.
This has caused the tennis world to speculate on the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s future in the sport.
Jim Courier, on Australian broadcaster Nine, said the speech felt like a farewell from the Grand Slam he has dominated.
“Only he knows for sure whether he’ll give it another shot here. If that was goodbye, that was one great finish to make it as far as he did,” he said.
Annabel Croft, meanwhile, also suggested Djokovic’s speech felt like a goodbye to the Australian Open crowd.
“There was just a little hint – he said something about not knowing what the next six months or year holds – was that a way of saying he’s not sure if he’ll be back? I don’t know and you just never know.”
Djokovic has previously suggested he wanted to continue playing until the 2028 Olympics, which are set to take place in Los Angeles.
