Carlos Alcaraz and his team had a moment of panic after the Spaniard made an unexpected blunder behind the scenes, just hours before his highly anticipated Australian Open quarter-final clash against Novak Djokovic.
As the world No. 3 prepared for his match, he and his coaching staff were briefly distracted by an incident in the player area. Known for playing quirky games with his team to help ease pre-match nerves, Alcaraz was engaging in some playful activities when things took a surprising turn.
The 21-year-old, who often plays makeshift mini-golf with his team on the practice courts, accidentally caused some damage in the stretching area at Melbourne Park. Alcaraz hit a ball off-camera, and it appeared to break something. The moment immediately triggered a reaction from the team, with Alcaraz and his brother Alvaro covering their faces in shock, while other members winced and clapped nervously. Only his head coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, remained composed throughout the mishap.
A security guard nearby watched the commotion unfold, chuckling as the team tried to brush off the incident.
This bit of added stress was certainly not what Alcaraz would have wanted before his showdown with Djokovic. The quarter-final marked their eighth meeting, but the first since Alcaraz’s emotional defeat to Djokovic in the gold medal match at the Olympics last summer. In that close encounter, Djokovic narrowly won both sets in tiebreaks, leaving Alcaraz devastated. The Spaniard later admitted to feeling like he had let his country down, and the loss impacted him deeply, leading to early exits at subsequent tournaments.
However, Alcaraz can draw confidence from his recent successes against Djokovic. He defeated the 24-time Grand Slam champion in two Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon, winning a thrilling five-set final in 2023 to claim the title, and then dominating Djokovic a year later to retain his crown.
Ahead of their first-ever meeting at the Australian Open, Alcaraz acknowledged the challenge of facing such a legendary player but emphasized the importance of focusing on his own game. “If I think about everything he has done in tennis, I couldn’t play,” he said.
“I mean, 24 Grand Slams, the most weeks at No. 1—he’s broken almost every record in tennis. But I try not to think about that. I know my strengths, and I know I can play well against him. That’s all I’m thinking when I face him.”
