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Novak Djokovic secured a highly anticipated Australian Open quarter-final clash against Carlos Alcaraz, dispatching Jiri Lehecka with a commanding straight-sets victory. Djokovic's quest for a historic 25th Grand Slam title remains firmly on track after his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) triumph over the Czech 24th seed. This sets the stage for a blockbuster quarter-final showdown with Alcaraz, who advanced after Jack Draper of Britain was forced to retire with a hip injury.
Alcaraz has beaten Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, but the Serb got the better of the 21-year-old to win gold at the Paris Olympics last summer - Djokovic's self-proclaimed "biggest sporting achievement".
Djokovic was booed by the crowd as Lehecka threatened to force a fourth set, and the 11-time Australian Open champion was quick to leave Rod Laver Arena after his victory.
"Thank you very much for being here tonight. I appreciate your support and I will see you in the next round," the 37-year-old said.
Speaking in a news conference afterwards, Djokovic clarified his reasons for swerving the usual on-court interview with four-time major winner Jim Courier. He referred to the actions of Channel 9 newsreader Tony Jones, who shouted "Novak, he's overrated, Novak's a has-been, Novak kick him out" towards Djokovic fans while live on camera on Friday.
"A couple days ago the famous sports journalist who works for official broadcaster Channel 9 here in Australia made a mockery of Serbian fans and also made insulting and offensive comments towards me," Djokovic said. "And since then, he chose not to issue any public apology. Neither did Channel 9. So since they're official broadcasters, I chose not to give interviews for Channel 9. I have nothing against Jim Courier or the Australian public."
"It was a very awkward situation for me."
During his third-round win over Tomas Machac, Djokovic appeared exhausted at times and needed a medical timeout.
