Four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz was unable to secure a place in his first Australian Open semifinal, as Novak Djokovic staged a remarkable comeback to win their highly anticipated quarterfinal match on Rod Laver Arena on Tuesday. The third-seeded Spaniard was defeated with scores of 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 4-6 after a gruelling three hours and 37 minutes of play.

In the aftermath of the match, a video of Alcaraz circulated widely on social media, depicting him limping after the third set. He was seen clutching his leg as he made his way to the bench, glancing towards his player box. The 21-year-old then took a seat, only to rise again and limp once more.

Despite Alcaraz displaying no visible signs of physical distress before the end of the third set or at the beginning of the fourth set, commentators speculated that he might have been attempting to send a message to Djokovic, who had taken a medical timeout while trailing 4-5 in the first set, after which he surged to win the subsequent two sets.

Carlos Alcaraz appears to grab his leg following his loss to Djokovic at the Australian Open.

“He’s limping around. Then he gets up and does it again. Limping and sitting down. He seems to be fine. Just pretending to have an injury.

“He’s being Novak.”

pic.twitter.com/maX3mDKPfa

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 21, 2025

The commentator remarked, "He appears to be limping as he moves about. Then he rises and repeats the action. He limps around and takes a seat. He is perfectly fine, merely pretending to have an injury. This is typical behaviour for Novak."

Following the match, former India No. 1 Somdev Devvarman was questioned by tennis icon Sania Mirza on Sony Sports, the official broadcaster of the 2025 Australian Open, regarding whether Alcaraz was "limping to indicate his dissatisfaction with Novak." Somdev concurred with this observation.

"Indeed, that was my point. It seemed to be a subtle jab at Novak, especially considering the gamesmanship involved," he elaborated.

However, Alcaraz found himself in an embarrassing situation as he was broken once more in the fourth set. Djokovic, who entered the match as the underdog, concluded the contest impressively, maintaining his unbeaten record against the Spaniard on hard courts at 3-0. He also leads their overall head-to-head matchup 5-3.

Djokovic's next opponent in the semifinal will be Alexander Zverev.

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