Across four sets of compelling, high-octane tennis on a breezy summer evening at his favourite hunting ground – Melbourne Park’s Rod Laver Arena – Djokovic returned from a set down and a minor injury to defeat Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed and 16 years his junior, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open on Tuesday.

Lovely words, Nole 💙

Total respect between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz 🤝#AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/Ud0mFjkMzc

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2025

Djokovic did not do so through superiority in his groundstrokes, nor did he outlast his young adversary through the force of his physicality. Instead, he generated moments seemingly out of nowhere in which momentum could shift, and raised his game to seize those moments with needle-like precision. Winning is an art form, and the methodical GOAT from Serbia is a maestro.

Feeling physically compromised? Take a medical time-out to reset. On pressure on your serve? Take a few seconds longer to take the wind out of your opponent’s momentum. Rallies are physically draining? Take big swings to reduce the length of the points and disrupt your opponent’s rhythm. Losing the baseline exchanges? Find excellent serving form. Sense your opponent is under pressure? Switch up the tactics again and make him play more shots.

This was not quite the same exhibition of breathless shotmaking as last year’s Olympic final, which Djokovic won; or the one-sided offensive of the Wimbledon final a month prior, which Alcaraz won. Instead, staying unpredictable for much of its nearly four-hour run time, this resembled a slow-burning chess match. Djokovic, initially overpowered, isolating the problem and finding the right solution. Alcaraz scrambling, and later crumbling, as a result.

“I wish today’s match was a final,” Djokovic said on court, after reaching his 50th Grand Slam semifinal. “One of the most epic matches I have played on this court, on any court really.”

The contest opened as per expectations. Despite a scratchy, error-ridden start, it was Alcaraz who had all the initiative, his first-strike tennis and big forehand dominating much of the patterns of play. After losing his serve in the ninth game, Djokovic felt an injury and took a timeout, returning with strapping on his thigh.

Despite being under pressure, Djokovic began to play much more aggressively, going for broke and taking big cuts on his swings which confused Alcaraz’s tactics. The strength of his returning was particularly impressive – he made Alcaraz’s newly improved service motion look ineffective, leathering returns back to his toes and rattling the 21-year-old.

It was in the final game of the second set that the tide turned, Alcaraz under pressure for the first time on his serve, let his level fall slightly and Djokovic came up with a masterclass return game to steal the set.

“After (the injury), I needed medication and it began kicking in. If I lost that second set, I don’t know if I could continue playing,” the Serb said after the match. “I managed to play a great couple of games to win the second set and then saw that Carlos was a bit hesitant from the back of the court. I just took my chances then and slowly started to feel better, move better.”

STOP IT, YOU TWO 🤯

Tennis from another planet between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz! 👏@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/mZ2TcJBEGl

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 21, 2025

From there, the scoreline may have read one set all but the match was entirely different. Djokovic found the key tactic to put Alcaraz’s big-hitting game under pressure: to find the right moments – a stray second serve, a loose backhand, an overhit volley – and go with big hits. By the time he was in a 2-1 sets lead, the painkillers began working and the hindrance in Djokovic’s movement vanished.

Sensing Alcaraz now under pressure and freaked, once he was in the lead in the fourth set, with victory in sight, the Serb cleverly returned to his tactics of old. He elongated the rallies and moved his opponent from side to side. Alcaraz found himself again and threatened midway through the set, but Djokovic found the most impressive first serves to bail himself out of trouble and roll to the victory.

For Alcaraz, a lack of adjustment to Djokovic’s disruptive tactics proved to be telling. If the match started with Djokovic looking like his advanced age, it ended with the Spaniard looking like his young age. He arrived as the favourite, he leaves with a lesson.

The dramatic nature of this highly anticipated contest may give it the complexion of a final, but there remains a job to be done for Djokovic. He will play second seed Alexander Zverev in the semifinal, invariably as the favourite, on Friday. The final may be a step higher, a rematch of his defeat at last year’s semifinal to defending champion and best player in the world, Jannik Sinner.

But even if Djokovic does not leave Melbourne with a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and 25th Major trophy, this performance alone will provide plenty of encouragement for the rest of his season. The declaration of the king’s death may have been premature after all.