Carlos Alcaraz had a rare outburst during his Australian Open quarter-final against Novak Djokovic, reacting angrily over a let call.
With the tournament no longer using the let machine, it’s now up to the umpires to call a let when a player serves. In the second set, Alcaraz stormed up to the umpire after a delay in making the call, claiming the decision was influenced by Djokovic.
Alcaraz took the first set 6-4 but found himself in early trouble in the second. Djokovic, who had taken a medical timeout at the end of the first set, came out strong and quickly built a 3-0 lead. Alcaraz, who had already fought back from a break down in the first set, aimed to do the same in the second.
At 3-1 in Djokovic’s favor, Alcaraz had a small opening when Djokovic’s serve clipped the net. There was no immediate let call, so Alcaraz played the ball, only for Djokovic, who knew it was a let, to stop and try the serve again. Chair umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore then made the call, confirming it was a first serve.
Alcaraz, visibly irate, turned to the umpire and approached the chair. “I’m not complaining about whether it was a let or not,” he said, adding that the call had been “five seconds late.”
“It’s crazy! It was the let, but you stopped because he stopped. I know you stopped because he stopped,” Alcaraz continued, still frustrated.
Commentator Naomi Cavaday noted that while the let call was correct, Alcaraz was upset because he felt the umpire had been influenced by Djokovic’s action. Tim Henman, also commentating, pointed out that Djokovic seemed unhappy with Alcaraz’s outburst.
The Spaniard rarely argues with umpires or lets his emotions take over during matches, so his response was surprising. However, he managed to regroup and broke back to level the score.
Despite the setback, Djokovic fought back, breaking Alcaraz to love and taking the set 6-4. He continued to elevate his game, winning the third set to take the lead.
