(VIDEO) Andy Murray shows gesture of appreciation for Carlos Alcaraz after heartbreaking defeat against Novak Djokovic at Australian Open

Former world number one Andy Murray showed a gesture of appreciation for Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz after his defeat in the Australian Open. The 21-year-old, who is already regarded as one of the best player currently playing in men’s tennis in the singles category, suffered a defeat in the quarterfinal of the first Grand Slam of the year to Serbia’s Novak Djokovic with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.

In a video posted on the social media platform X — previously known as Twitter — Murray, who is now the coach of Djokovic, can be seen showing a gesture of appreciation for Alcaraz, who was training after the defeat and looked distraught.

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The defeat would be a hard pill to swallow for the young Spaniard, especially after he won the first set and also because Djokovic was clearly struggling physically in the first set and had to take a medical time out as well. With that result, the four-time Grand Slam winner’s record at the Australian Open remains largely unimpressive, and he has yet to play beyond the quarterfinals stage. Last year, he was also knocked out after losing in the quarterfinal to reigning world number two Germany’s Alexander Zverev with a score of 6-1, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.

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On the other hand, the result would be a major boost for Djokovic, who is pushing to become the first player in the history of tennis in the Open era in the singles category to lift 25 Grand Slam titles. The Belgrade-born star will next face Germany’s Zverev in the last-four clash. The current world number two defeated America’s Tommy Paul in the quarterfinal with a score of 7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1. It will be the 13th meeting between the two players. In the previous 12 meetings, Djokovic clearly held an advantage as he won on eight occasions, whereas the German tennis star registered just four victories.  

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