Ten-time champion Novak Djokovic came from a set down to beat Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 and reach a 12th Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old 24-time Grand Slam men’s singles winner has now reached a remarkable 50 Major semi-finals, and will face No.2 Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Zverev, a two-time runner-up at majors, beat No. 12 Tommy Paul 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1 to reach the last four.
The other men’s quarterfinals are on Wednesday, with No.1 Jannik Sinner battling No.8 Alex de Minaur, and No.21 Ben Shelton up against unseeded Lorenzo Sonego.
This was the eighth Djokovic versus Alcaraz meeting, but the first at the Australian Open — and the first that was not in the semi-final or final of a tournament. Zverev called it “a clash of generations” between “two of the best players that probably ever touched a tennis racket.”
In women’s singles, No.1 Aryna Sabalenka reached her sixth straight hard-court Grand Slam semi-final after beating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 2-6, 6-3
Sabalenka kept a historic Australian Open hat-trick on track with the win and will face Spain’s Paula Badosa for a place in the Melbourne final after the Spanish 11th seed stunned Coco Gauff in straight sets.
It was the Belarusian’s 19th win in a row at Melbourne Park but turned into a battle for survival in increasingly windy conditions during a match that had both players struggling to hold serve in the third set.
Badosa shattered world No.3 Gauff’s dream of a first Australian Open title with a 7-5, 6-4 win earlier to reach her first Slam semi-final.
She is the first Spanish woman into a major semi-final since Garbine Muguruza, also at Melbourne, in 2020.
It has been a remarkable comeback to tennis for Badosa, who was ranked outside the top 100 a year ago after a stress fracture in her back.
