Carlos Alcaraz loses cool, accuses umpire of being 'influenced' by Novak Djokovic over let call; booed by crowd
Carlos Alcaraz was booed by the Melbourne crowd following his argument with the chair umpire
Four-time Grand Slam champions Carlos Alcaraz lost his cool during the second set of the blockbuster men's singles quarterfinal match against Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Australian Open as he argued with the umpire over a let call.
It happened when Djokovic was serving at 3-1 in the second set, hoping to pile up his lead over the Spaniard, who had won the opening set 6-4. The umpire immediately made a let call, but Alcaraz was left furious at the match official over the time being taken during his serves following a let. While he admitted it was a let call, he felt that the call was taken after Djokovic stopped.
"It was five seconds late. It's crazy," said Alcaraz after the chair umpire admitted her mistake.
"I know it's let, but you stopped when he stopped," yelled the 21-year-old thrice as the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena began to boo the Spaniard.
The commentator agreed with Alcaraz, saying, "He is not happy because he thinks the umpire has been influenced by Djokovic stopping at that point."
"I don't think Djokovic is too thrilled with Alcaraz asking that question," said another commentator.
Alcaraz, who was broken early in the second set, broke back in the fifth game of the second set to restore parity.
Earlier in the opening set, in the windy Melbourne conditions, breaks were exchanged early across the first three games. Djokovic made the most of the slow start from Alcaraz as he moved to a 2-0 lead, before the latter stormed back to fire a backhand winner at the end of a 26-shot tally to break back.
The 24-time Slam winner left the court to receive a medial timeout at 4-5. Shortly after, Alcaraz, who was still looking fresh, hit a stunning drop shot to break for the second time as he bagged the opening set 6-4 after 54 minutes of tense action.
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