Novak Djokovic fought off injury and Carlos Alcaraz to reach his 12th Australian Open semi-final – and keep alive his bid to win a record 25th Grand Slam singles title.

In a night of high drama in the Rod Laver Arena, the Serbian superstar seemed to suffer a groin injury in the ninth game of the first set and took a medical timeout.

But despite losing the first set and limping after losing points throughout the rest of the contest, the 10-time champion showed his warrior mentality to win 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 in three hours and 37 minutes.

Alcaraz, 21, tried to move Djokovic around the court with drop shots and hitting from side to side.

But cheered on by his fellow 37-year-old Andy Murray in the courtside coaching pod, the Serb outpowered the Spaniard and broke his serve seven times with some outrageous service returns.

He took his first match point when an Alcaraz forehand hit the net a at 12.57am local time.

The Olympic champion will now play world No.2 Alex Zverev in Friday’s semi-final. He is now two wins away from breaking the record of Grand Slam titles he shares with Margaret Court.

Commentating on host broadcaster Channel Nine, John McEnroe questioned the seriousness of Djokovic’s injury by saying: “This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this routine. Don’t be fooled.”

The Serb, who pulled out of last year’s French Open with a meniscus tear in my right knee, won the title here in 2023 with a three centimetre tear in his left hamstring. And he won his ninth Aussie grand slam title in 2021 despite suffering an abdominal strain in the third round.

The build-up to his quarter-final showdown had been dominated by the row over Djokovic’s boycott of his post-match interview in the last round following “”insulting and offensive” on-air comments by an Aussie TV presenter. He received a public apology on Monday

If it had been a tactic to fire himself up, it definitely worked as he produced a vintage performance on his favourite court.

Djokovic failed to win a Grand Slam in 2024 – and was humiliated here in the semi-finals by Jannik Sinner last year. But he beat Alcaraz in the Olympic final to finally win a gold medal – and he reached the same level of excellence today.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner now leads their head-to-head record 5-3 – and 3-0 on hardcourts.

Reigning French and Wimbledon Alcaraz, who was seeking the final leg of a career Grand Slam, has still to get beyond the quarter-finals here.

This was the first time the two Grand Slam champions had met before the semi-final stage – and this match was worthy of a final.

With the score at 4-4 after they had exchanged early breaks, Djokovic appeared to jar his knee during a long rally on the third point. At the end of the point, he bent down and looked at his box.

He saved two break points in the game before he gave up the third break point when he sprayed a forehand down the line wide.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion then limped off and called the trainer before leaving the court for a medical timeout.

When played resumed, Alcaraz took his first set point with an ace after 54 minutes.

Despite walking gingerly and grimacing after shots, Djokovic quickly moved into a 3-0 lead in the second set before Alcaraz broke back when the Serb missed a backhand volley.

But with Alcaraz serving to stay in the set at 4-5, Djokovic led 0-40 and took his first set point with a backhand return winner down the line. The match was all level at 11.05pm local time after one hour and 44 minutes.

In the third set, Alcaraz saved break points in his first two service games and one in at 2-3 before he sent down a double fault to present Djokovic with a fourth of the set – and Alcaraz ended a long rally with a backhand into the net. Alcaraz broke back after Djokovic hit a backhand into the net at the end of a 16-shot really and the set was back on serve at 3-4.

But the Serb again forced three break points in the next game and Djokovic took the first by ending a 22-shot rally by clubbing an inside out forehand winner into the corner. He celebrated by pointing to his ear. He took his first set point in the next game after retrieving a drop shot and a lob before Alcaraz was unable to return a backhand pass.

He sealed the third set – where he hit 11 winners against four unforced errors – with a kiss to the crowd.

Djokovic broke Alcaraz in the first game of the fourth set and had a point for a double break at 4-2 before he ended a 33-shot rally by hitting a forehand long. Alcaraz smiled at the end of the energy-sapping rally while Djokovic shouted at his coaching team before burying his head in his towel. But the Serb saved two break points at 4-3 before closing out the match.