The Old Man's Still Got It: Novak Djokovic Straight Up Bullied Carlos Alcaraz In The Quarterfinals Of The Aussie Open

MARTIN KEEP. Getty Images.

I don't know man, what more can you say? 37 year old Novak Djokovic just kicked Carlos Alcaraz's ass at the Aussie Open. Father time? Told to go away once more. The guy just doesn't stop, even when he seemingly has no reason to keep on pushing as hard as he is. Dude has accomplished all there is in the game of tennis, yet here he is still out there beating the best the world has to offer. Truly one of the greatest athletes and competitors of all time. 

Even after a shaky first set and an apparent leg injury that made you wonder if he was even gonna finish the match, Novak prevailed. Carlos Alcaraz on the other hand? He really had no answer whatsoever for the Djokovic avalanche that came once he got his feet back under him. Incredibly disappointing effort from him all around. 

One of the tougher things in tennis to do is play an opponent that's injured. Sounds silly, but when you see the player on the other side of the net laboring, it's human nature to let up a little and almost feel bad. Problem with doing that is once your opponent starts to feel better you can't turn it back on. A match that was seemingly in the bag, all of a sudden flips on its head. Djokovic took a medical timeout while trailing 5-4 in the first set. 

He came back out with wrapping on his left thigh/groin area. Before the timeout he had trouble moving to his right side and was visibly bothered by the discomfort. Match over, right? Well, Novak stormed out of the gates in the 2nd set and decided to shorten up the points. He went for more shots with aggression and as a result started racking up momentum. Alcaraz's confidence and energy diminished by the minute while Djokovic started to feel himself a bit. Before you knew it, he had a two sets to one lead and was winning points like this. 

That limited mobility you saw at the end of the first set from Novak? Not an issue anymore. Whatever was bothering him then had been brushed aside. Pain meds kicking in? Playing the injury up a little bit with some mind games? I mean it's possible as that is definitely a strategy players use in tennis. He did seem pretty concerned about it after the match for what it's worth. Either way Carlos never found his level. Every game for Alcaraz became a chore to get through, with Novak dictating the whole way. It was only until facing a break point to go down two breaks in the 4th did Alcaraz start to up his play and look like the guy we're accustomed to seeing. Unfortunately that came way too late in the match. Did give us this insane point though. 

If Carlos played like he did at the end of 4th from the 2nd set on he probably wins the match. Djokovic even said if he lost the 2nd set he probably doesn't continue playing. Alcaraz had his chances, but Novak wouldn't give in. That's why he's the greatest player of all time. Straight up bullied a guy 16 years younger than him. Handed the Spaniard only his second loss in a slam ever after winning the first set. Carlos played about as bad as a match as he could given his usual standards. Sure the Aussie is not a place he has played his best so far in his career, but his matches leading up to this one gave you the idea that he was ready to take the jump and get by the quarterfinals. Whatever it is, there's something here that prevents that from happening. His game for a fast hard court just isn't there. 

As far as I see the rest of the tournament, this is Sinner's to lose in a big way. Now that his matches will be at night I don't think you need to worry about him over-heating like he was the match before. Even if Alcaraz won today, Sinner is just that much better than everyone else. We'll see how Novak recovers with the two days off and Zverev is lurking, but neither can take on Sinner in my mind and come out alive. 

P.S. No surprise but bringing on Andy Murray as a coach was a 10/10 move by Novak. He's a tactical mastermind and now the 24 time slam champ has him at his disposal.