Novak Djokovic Crushes Alex de Minaur to enter Quarterfinals in Australian Open 2023

Novak Djokovic started the second week with a thumping win over Alex de Minaur. The Australian was tipped to be Novak Djokovic’s biggest challenge yet at the Australian Open, but he stumbled on the biggest stage when the Serbian tennis star ran a rampage. Novak Djokovic wrapped things up in less than two hours, dropping just five games in the entire match.

Alex de Minaur appeared to raise some doubts about Novak’s hamstring injury after Novak defeated Alex de Minaur 6–2 6–1 6–2 in their fourth round match at the Australian Open. This was their first meeting on the tour, and the Australian player claimed Novak’s hamstring injury was going well with Djokovic.
De Minaur was beaten in his first meeting with Djokovic as the world No. 5 lost just five games in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open after a hamstring injury he sustained during their Adelaide semi-final match two weeks ago. After requiring several medical timeouts in his first three rounds, the 35-year-old looked in fine form against the 22nd seed and De Minaur later appeared to question the seriousness of the issue.

The 23-year-old heaped praise for Djokovic’s performance during Djokovic’s post-match press conference, prompting one report to ask if it was “all speculation about a hamstring depressing” as his opponent. De Minaur played the part shyly, replying: “I don’t know. You tell me how you thought he looked there. Playing him, I thought he was moving very well, so… I do not know.”

But he appeared to reiterate his question on the fourth seed’s hamstring as he was asked whether it was difficult to forget all the speculation about Djokovic’s injury going into a match against the man himself. “Look, I don’t know,” he said. Before making a questionable comment about Djokovic’s hamstring, he added, “I think everyone’s going to see what’s happening in a couple of weeks. Everyone’s talking about that.”

De Minaur said, “Today I was up against him on the court. Either I’m not a good enough tennis player to expose him, or … it looked good to me. He was very good in all aspects.” The Australian also praised Djokovic’s performance, admitting that he thought the 35-year-old would be able to record a 10th Australian Open crowd if he maintained the same form.

Asked if he had ever faced a better player since his first meeting with the former world No. 1, de Minaur replied: “I don’t think I have, if I’m being completely honest. I think what I experienced today was probably Novak. Close to his best, I would say. For me, if he’s the level, I think he’s definitely the guy who’s going to take the title.

“I think what makes Novak Novak is, at the end of the day, how solid he is, his movement, his end range, what he’s able to do with it, the depth he’s been able to put. Today felt like constant pressure, not getting free points in whatever service game I had. It looked like an uphill battle from the start. Never really got my teeth into the match, for Made it difficult, or brought on pressure moments and situations.”