Novak Djokovic previews blockbuster Australian Open quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz

The two former world No. 1s set up a quarter-final match at Melbourne Park as they both claimed comfortable wins with Alcaraz advancing when Jack Draper retired after the Spaniard won the opening two sets while Djokovic defeated Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.

They will now do battle in their eighth meeting at the top level in tennis with the 24-time Grand Slam winner leading their head-to-head rivalry 4-3.

All seven of their matches to date have come in either semi-finals or finals with the most recent encounter taking place in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Djokovic won in straight sets as he claimed gold in the singles to complete his Career Golden Slam while Alcaraz won the Wimbledon final in three sets a few months earlier.

The Serbian said: "I'm expecting a big battle, as it's the case in most of our matches where we faced each other.

"Maybe just couple times it was quite one-sided. Wimbledon finals last year, he was the dominant force on the court. I had a really good match against him in the [ATP Finals] in 2023.

"Other than that, we had some long battles, long exchanges kind of matches that I played against him. Remind me of my matchups versus Nadal in terms of the intensity and the energy on the court.

"He's very dynamic, an explosive player. Incredibly talented and charismatic player. Great to watch; not that great to play against (smiling)."

Djokovic and Nadal, of course, met 60 times with the former taking the H2H 31-29 with their last match coming at the 2024 Paris Games.

But these days it is about Djokovic against Alcaraz and it should be another good encounter with both in excellent form.

The seventh seed added: "I look forward to it. I think when the draw was out, a lot of the people were looking forward to a potential matchup in the quarter-finals, Alcaraz versus me. So here we are.

"I think we both are hitting the ball pretty well this tournament. I like the way I'm playing and the way I'm feeling the last couple matches. I'm excited about that challenge."

They have met twice on hard courts - one outdoors in Cincinnati in 2023 and a few months later indoors at the ATP Finals - with Djokovic winning both matches.

Will Alcaraz change up his game when he faces the veteran on the hard courts at Melbourne Park?

"Not really. I change my game a little bit. It's not going to be the same game style when I'm playing on grass or clay court obviously," the third seed said.

"I think everybody has their weakness. It doesn't matter if we we're playing one surface or another, we are going to still having the same weakness. What weakness Novak has? Just few or none.

"I know what I have to do on clay, on hard court, on grass. This is going to be the first time that I am playing against him in a Grand Slam on hard court, so let's see."

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