Novak Djokovic and new coach Andy Murray plot the downfall of Carlos Alcaraz in Australian Open quarter-final | Tennis News

Novak Djokovic resumes his rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open on Tuesday in a clash of two tennis generations.

Djokovic is arguably the sport’s greatest of all time, playing in pursuit of a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title.

Meanwhile Alcaraz is at the forefront of tennis’ new wave of rising stars. He is still only 21 years old, but has already won Wimbledon twice as well as the French Open and US Open.

The Australian Open is the only major title outside of Alcaraz’s collection and he is seeking to complete his career Grand Slam this year in Melbourne.

If he manages to do so, he would be the younger player ever to accomplish the feat.

This quarter-final will take place from 9.30am on Tuesday, which you can follow in the live blog on the Sky Sports website and app.

Alcaraz won a memorable Wimbledon final against Djokovic in 2023, prevailing in a five-set thriller. The Spaniard dominated Djokovic to win the Wimbledon final again last year.

But Djokovic was victorious in their last encounter, when he beat Alcaraz at Roland Garros in an emotional Olympic final last summer to secure his first gold medal.

Sky Sports Tennis commentator Jonathan Overend said this quarter-final is “worthy of a final, worthy of any final, and yet here they are playing in the last eight”.

“They’ve had so many great battles in the past, notably the Wimbledon final from two years ago, the Cincinnati final from that summer as well was quite incredible and of course the Olympic final from 2024 on the clay of Roland Garros, which was in many people’s eyes was the match of last season,” Overend continued.

“It was an unbelievable level achieved by these two. The shot-making, the defensive ability, the movement of both of these guys – never in doubt – and the emotion at the end with Djokovic in tears having completed the Golden Slam and Alcaraz in tears because he came so close to winning that gold medal for Spain.

“If we get anywhere close to a repeat of the standard of tennis that day in this match, then we’re in for a Melbourne treat.”

‘I know my weapons’

It will be the earliest stage at which they’ve crossed paths in a major.

“This is not the right player to play in a quarter-final, I guess,” Alcaraz said.

“Being in a quarter-final, I’m going to approach the match the same as I did in the previous matches against him, and let’s see.

“I know my weapons. I know that I’m able to play good tennis against him, I’m able to beat him.”

Djokovic said of Alcaraz: “He’s a very dynamic, explosive player. Incredibly talented and charismatic. He’s great to watch but not that great to play against.

“I’m expecting a big battle, as is the case in most of our matches when we’ve faced each other.”

Murray vs Ferrero: Battle of the coaches

Djokovic has a new source of guidance for this competition, having hired retired superstar Andy Murray as his new coach.

Alcaraz’s coach is Juan Carlos Ferrero, another former world No 1.

And Sky Sports Tennis’ Overend said: “Murray actually beat Ferrero three times and all of them in 2009, including at Wimbledon that year.

“Two very astute readers of the game and we know the excellent work Ferrero has done with Alcaraz over several years, but we’re already seeing Murray’s impact on Djokovic.

“The potential for this great short-term coaching arrangement is there for all to see and Murray will absolutely relish the opportunity of plotting Alcaraz’s downfall. I suppose the big question is, is whether he tries to tinker with anything in particular.

“What Murray might be able to bring is a couple of subtle tweaks, potentially to the counter-attacking game of Djokovic.

“We know how good he is, but could he see a few gaps in the Alcaraz backline to try to take the initiative in rallies and to stop the Spaniard getting on top of the points.”

The Alcaraz serve

The Spaniard is 16 years younger than Djokovic so age is on his side but last season his play was somewhat erratic and he is in the process of remodelling his serve.

“This is the first time they’ve met since Alcaraz has tweaked his serve,” said Overend.

“Already we’ve seen an increase in speed, an increase in potency, the changes they’ve made in the off-season have been quite noticeable in the action. Any jerkiness that we previously saw from Carlos has gone, it’s a much smoother motion now. He seems to be able to generate that ‘pop’ with it.

“It all seems to be coming together for him, but will that be as effective? That slight increase in potency against the greatest returner, against Djokovic.

“I think Djokovic is too good a returner for it to make any particular difference.”

Djokovic to win record-breaking 25th Grand Slam?

“I believe Djokovic has got it in him to win and logic suggests that his best chance is this next chance at this Australian Open, then you add the element of Andy Murray and his coaching corner,” said Sky Sports Tennis’ Overend.

“This is the opportunity for Djokovic to break the record. He’s three matches away from doing it.

“Potentially he’s going to have to beat Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, and Jannik Sinner in successive matches which is going to be enormously tough but having gone for him from the start and having that mic-drop moment of making 25 Grand Slams and who knows? Maybe even retiring on the spot should he win the trophy.

“I’m going to have to go for Djokovic to repeat his Paris achievement and beat Alcaraz once more.”

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