Carlos Alcaraz might be skilled in the sport but his humor in the Melbourne Slam turned sour, drawing severe backlash. His playful humor at Novak Djokovic landed him in controversy with a sly take on his brilliance. Amidst this, a pro journalist dropped his opinion hinting at why the Spaniard needed to act differently in the quarterfinals.

Alcaraz behaved uncharacteristically against his quarterfinal opponent Novak Djokovic in Melbourne. During their match, Djokovic requested a medical timeout after dropping the first set to the Spaniard by 4-5. When he returned, his left thigh was taped up, and yet, he overpowered Alcaraz and won the round by 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. During the match’s third set, Alcaraz allegedly mocked the Serb by limping back to his position and grabbing his left thigh before sitting down. When he stood up afterward, he continued to hold his left thigh. This gesture hinted to the fraternity about Alcaraz’s possible dig at the Serb’s injury during their match.

Reflecting on the ATP number three’s behavior, journalist Benoit Maylin criticized him. Discussing his thoughts on the Sans Filet podcast, this established journalist believed that Alcaraz’s mocking was a result of his overconfidence that he could defeat the 10-time Australian Open winner. However, his attitude backfired. Maylin said, “He got into Djokovic’s game at all levels, tennis and mental. For a guy like Alcaraz, it’s a huge slap in the face. And besides, the thing about: did he really make fun of Djokovic when we thought he had cramp? Of course he makes fun of Djokovic, it’s obvious. And what’s more, he does it while watching Ferrero. He was literally eaten by a guy he thought he could beat and I’m curious to see how he’s going to react.”

Like Maylin, commentator and legend John McEnroe also echoed similar thoughts. Referring to Alcaraz’s controversial behavior, he claimed, “It’s clearly the frustration.” McEnroe’s counterpart James Blake also believed his statement, stressing the frustration factor. They all highlighted how Alcaraz thought the Serb’s injury would be his leverage, only to discover later that his hopes didn’t bounce back into reality, forcing him to unceremoniously exit the Grand Slam tournament.

Despite the controversy, the players have remained silent about the incident in the post-match discussions. Instead, Djokovic dropped a great compliment for the Spaniard, showing that his tact and humanity rose above any disrespect.

Novak Djokovic offered his “utmost respect and admiration” to the Spaniard

Novak Djokovic hardly paid any attention to his rival Carlos Alcaraz’s act of imitation. In the post-match discussion, he spoke highly of the 21-year-old player and showed humility. “I want to say my utmost respect and admiration for Carlos, everything he stands for and what he has already achieved in his young career,” he began. After that, the Serb reflected on Alacarz’s merit as the youngest ATP number one in history and believed the Spaniard would be on the court for a long time.

Djokovic’s statement delighted Andy Roddick, who in his podcast Served, expressed that he loved the heated on-court feud between the players. Roddick also added, “Carlos got up on a switch over and was kind of limping around. I don’t know if that was mocking Novak, who seemed to be compromised with his movement and then in the third and fourth set, moved as well than I’ve seen him in 18 months or two years. That will live. I’m sure that will have its own heartbeat in the post-mortem of his match.” And in hindsight, the former American pro’s statement rang true indeed.

Nevertheless, Carlos Alcaraz’s reaction towards Novak Djokovic taught the fraternity a great lesson about attitude and mental resilience. Although the Spaniard was perhaps reveling in the possibility of an easy win, the Serb’s resurgence after the first set showed that matches between top players always remain unpredictable. And if one of them is Novak Djokovic, he can never be written off till the end.