‘Wish this was the final’

Novak Djokovic on Tuesday won a generational clash against Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open that he said was worthy of the final to close in on a record 25th Grand Slam title with Alexander Zverev next up in the last fourThe 37yearold Serb outlasted the Spaniard 16 years his junior 46 64 63 64 despite having his left thigh heavily strapped It was a vintage 3hrs 37mins performance and put him into the last four at Melbourne Park for a 12th time with only Roger Federer 15 doing so more oftenAlso ReadlsquoTwo finals leftrsquoCarlos Alcaraz falls to his knees after being ousted by Novak Djokovic in Melbourne yesterday PicGetty ImagesThe win also extended his alltime record for most Grand Slam semifinal appearances to 50 four clear of the Swiss great To reach another final he will need to beat second seed Zverev who battled into the semis for a second year running with a 76 71 76 70 26 61 win over American 12th seed Tommy PaulldquoI just wish that this match today was the final Just one of the most epic matches I have played on this court any court reallyrdquo said Djokovic paying tribute to ldquoterrific guyrdquo AlcarazNovak wary of inform ZverevldquoI guess the key is recoveryrdquo he added looking ahead to the Zverev clash ldquoThatrsquos all Irsquom thinking about Hopefully I can come out and feel my best because Sascha Zverev is playing some of the best tennis he has playedrdquoDjokovic opened with a commanding hold then broke immediately as the 21yearold Alcaraz struggled to find his range But the advantage was shortlived with the World No3 rifling a backhand down the line to break straight backSeventh seed Djokovic saved two break points in an enthralling game nine but appeared to be wincing and Alcaraz converted on the third for a 54 lead when the veteran sprayed a forehand wideThe Serb called the trainer and left court for a medical timeout after the game with Alcaraz sealing the set to love on his return But Djokovic with his thigh now strapped wasnrsquot done and broke to race 30 ahead in set two playing more aggressivelyAlcaraz then won three games in a row to seemingly seize control but Djokovic pulled off a break to love from nowhere with a backhand winner to take the setDjokovic in kiss modeAn intense third set went the way of the player serving until three breaks in a row left Djokovic 53 ahead and able to serve out blowing kisses to his children in the crowd as the stadium erupted Djokovic had all the momentum and broke straight away in the fourth setBoth men produced some sensational tennis including a 33shot rally before Alcaraz finally succumbedThe veteran refused to say exactly what his injury problem was but said ldquothe medication started to kick in and it helpedrdquoReflecting on the game Alcaraz said he didnrsquot take full advantage of the Serbrsquos injuryldquoIrsquom going to say that was the biggest mistake In the second set I had to play a little bit better just to push him even more to the limit We saw that he had issues moving a little bit in the second set I had to push him and I didnrsquotrdquoThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever