Djokovic does it again – defying predictions, the years and an injury to outlast 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz, who is still missing only the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup from his major collection.
A generation gap will develop and grow between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, but it’s not discernible yet, and it may never show on the hardcourts of Melbourne Park. For all the ways they represent generations and eras, the score here is Djokovic 10, Alcaraz 0. And only Djokovic can add to that this year.
He said two doses of medication had helped. “It didn’t bother me, it didn’t create any hindrance at the end of the match – only in the second set,” he said. “Honestly, sometimes it helps. It definitely helped in the second and third set. You start to play a bit more aggressive, you go through your shots more.” Alcaraz can tell you all about that.
The fine balance of the contest was disrupted when an Alcaraz drop shot stretched Djokovic, who winced, flexed, lost his serve and left the court for treatment before returning with a heavily bandaged thigh. It wasn’t that Alcaraz was wobbly on his serve, but that Djokovic simply did not allow him any consistency or rhythm on it. At one stage, Djokovic held break points against Alcaraz in five of six consecutive service games. He did not merely beat Alcaraz, he mastered him. That’s what masters do.
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