Novak Djokovic defeats Jiri Lehecka at Australian Open | ATP Tour

Match Report

Djokovic eases past Lehecka, sets Alcaraz QF clash in Melbourne

Djokovic and great rival Alcaraz will meet at the Australian Open for the first time

January 19, 2025

Novak Djokovic delivered another masterclass in Melbourne on Sunday to set a much-anticipated quarter-final meeting with Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open.

Djokovic brushed past 24th seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) inside Rod Laver Arena, where his two-hour, 39-minute victory means he has equalled Roger Federer’s record of reaching 15 men’s singles quarter-finals at the hard-court major. For the second match in a row, the record 10-time titlist at Melbourne Park dialled in with a rock-solid display to ease past a potentially dangerous, hard-hitting Czech opponent.

Just as he had in the third round against Tomas Machac, the 37-year-old Djokovic dominated from the baseline to overwhelm Lehecka, particularly at key moments. The Serbian produced just 21 unforced errors in the match, according to Infosys Stats, compared to his opponent’s 44.

“I felt great,” Djokovic told Eurosport after the match. “A couple of hiccups here and there, a loose game [after] I broke his serve in the third. After that I had chances to break him, but every time I had an opportunity to break him, he would serve big. Just very powerful and precise.

“Obviously a little bit of a different opponent compared to my last-round opponent, but there were quite a few similarities, with a flat backhand and quite an aggressive style. I think I handled the pressure moments well and played some great points towards the end.”

Lehecka competed well early in his bid to upset Djokovic and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals for the second time, but his first-set effort was undermined by a poor service game at 4-3. The Czech produced three unforced errors, which he followed with a double fault to hand Djokovic the opening service break of the match.

Djokovic made no mistake in serving out the set and he was quickly on the way to doubling his lead as he broke Lehecka’s serve again in the opening game of the second set. The Czech’s only opportunity to reclaim the break came in the following game, but Djokovic held firm and Lehecka continued to throw in errors that prevented him from applying sustained pressure to his opponent.

A familiar pattern was emerging as another sloppy Lehecka service game helped Djokovic break again in the opening game of the third set, although this time the Czech was able to hit back immediately for 1-1 with his first break of the match. The 23-year-old Lehecka did produce some moments of magic with his powerful game, particularly off his forehand wing, but Djokovic ended any hopes of a comeback by winning a tie-break for the first time in three attempts in 2025.

On several occasions, Djokovic showcased how his trademark elite movement around the court remains, even at the age of 37. He met several Lehecka drop volleys with stunning angled winners on the slide, perhaps most crucially to earn a mini-break for 3/1 in the third-set tie-break.

With his win, Djokovic booked a first Grand Slam meeting on a hard court with his great rival Alcaraz, who earlier led Jack Draper 7-5, 6-1 when the Briton retired from their fourth-round clash. Djokovic leads Alcaraz 4-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series, although Alcaraz has won two of the pair’s three previous outings at majors.