On his third match point, a wide crossbackhand from the Italian gave the 38-year-old player the victory, which he celebrated by kneeling and making the sign of the cross. With the live opportunity to reach his 25th career Grand Slam, being the most successful in this category of tournaments, the great final between Alcaraz and Djokovic, which will replay the one from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, will begin at 5:30 on Sunday, February 1 (Argentinian time). The first to play was “Charly”, who had to struggle to eliminate German Alexander Zverev (4th), whom he defeated in five sets. His suffering, besides being tennis-related due to a very even match, was also physical: in the days of high heat in Melbourne, the Australian city where the Grand Slam is taking place, the Spaniard had to seek medical treatment for cramps and was even seen vomiting on the court, likely with heat as the main cause. In any case, and after three tie-breaks, Alcaraz managed to prevail against the German in a war of almost five and a half hours and beat him 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-7 (4/7) and 7-5. Then it was “Nole’s” turn, who entered the court with the tough task of breaking the Alcaraz-Sinner hegemony, which has been monopolizing all the finals of the big tournaments. Buenos Aires, January 30 (NA) -- Iconic Argentine tennis player Juan Martín del Potro was able to predict the finalists of the Australian Open, in a publication on the social network X published during the night of Thursday. According to what Noticias Argentinas agency learned, the former player had written “I would like the final to be between my friends Nole and Carlitos”, referring to Novak Djokovic (4th) and Carlos Alcaraz (1st), with whom he maintains a good relationship. In addition, his prediction was not easy: Djokovic had accumulated five consecutive defeats against the Italian Jannik Sinner (2nd), whom he was able to defeat this time after five sets and with an emotional finish. The post where Del Potro predicted the final and his subsequent celebration. Agencia Noticias Argentinas/Redes @delpotrojuan. Having retired from tennis a little less than four years ago and being very active on his social networks when important ATP circuit tournaments are played, Juan Martín del Potro got his prediction right about how the Australian Open final would be. For this, the “Tower of Tandil” was guided by his affinity for the players, wishing that Djokovic and Alcaraz would reach the final, tennis players with whom he has shared several moments of friendship, with the Serb being the one chosen to face him in his farewell match, played at Parque Roca in December 2024. Del Potro and Alcaraz, on vacation in Miami. NA File. Later, after the eternal Novak Djokovic's victory, Del Potro reacted with laughter, saying that he “knew something” and mainly celebrating the Serb's triumph. In a tournament that had no major surprises, the top four players in the world reached the semifinals. Despite losing the first and third sets and showing commitment physically, the Serb turned to his experience and changed his way of returning from the third set onwards, something that gradually brought him closer to victory. With a serve to the T as an infallible weapon, Djokovic saved 16 break points, eight of them in the final set, and was aggressive on the return of every serve, something that gave him control of the match.
