The 6 players who could prevent a Carlos Alcaraz-Novak Djokovic showdown

A possible rematch of the last two Wimbledon finals – between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic – in the 2025 Australian Open quarter-finals was subject to much interest and discussion when the men’s singles draw was released last Thursday.
Now that the Serbian superstar has fallen out of the top 4 in the ATP Rankings, it was guaranteed that he would be projected to face one of Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, and Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the season’s first Grand Slam.
Djokovic and Alcaraz have had an extremely competitive rivalry, with the former leading the head-to-head 4-3 and winning three of the last four meetings. Indeed, it was the Spaniard’s back-to-back wins over Nadal and Djokovic in Madrid in 2022 that truly announced him to the world as an elite player.
However, both players will have to win two more matches to make the mouthwatering clash a reality.
Tomas Machac
Tomas Machac had a sensational end to the 2024 season – beating the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Carlos Alcaraz, and Tommy Paul. That form was continued at this year’s United Cup, overcoming Hubert Hurkacz in a tight three-set match, and having match point vs Taylor Fritz before retiring, due to cramps. The Czech prevailed in a gruelling five-set match vs the in-form Reilly Opelka, and will next face the 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic in the third round on Friday.
Jiri Lehecka
Another possible banana skin for the Serb is Jiri Lehecka, who is on a seven-match winning streak after winning Brisbane – defeating Holger Rune, Grigor Dimitrov (by retirement), and Nicolas Jarry, among others. Lehecka had an injury-plagued 2024, ever since he provided one of 2024’s best serving performances vs Rafael Nadal in Madrid, and – if he could rekindle that form – could provide a tricky challenge in the fourth round.
Benjamin Bonzi
Probably the least likely to prevent a Wimbledon final rematch is Benjamin Bonzi, who Lehecka will face in the third round, and possibly Djokovic in the fourth round. The Frenchman, however, dominated the tricky David Goffin 6-1, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7) in the first round and Francesco Passaro after that.
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Nuno Borges
Moving on to the other half of the packed quarter, Carlos Alcaraz is also far from guaranteed to make the last eight. Next for the Spaniard is Nuno Borges, who is not well-known for his hard-court prowess, but looked right at home against Jordan Thompson on Wednesday. The Portuguese dominated the Australian 6-3 6-2 6-4, with Thompson simply not having any answers to power and precision coming from Borges’ racket. Alcaraz did face – and beat – Borges in Barcelona in 2023, however, the latter has won a title since then, and will be brimming with confidence after his win vs Thompson.
Aleksandar Vukic
Aleksandar Vukic clawed his way out of his second-round match vs Sebastian Korda, in a five-set thriller and pushed over the line by his home crowd. Despite the extended scoreboard, the match itself was not too demanding, and lasted just over 2.5 hours. The Australian’s recent form is not particularly eye-catching, however, he did get quality wins over Casper Ruud, Frances Tiafoe, and Adrian Mannarino towards the end of 2024 – and may get his chance at Alcaraz in the fourth round.
Jack Draper
Jack Draper could not have fought any harder to reach the third round. Having gone five sets with Mariano Navone, he then faced Thanasi Kokkinakis where the Australian served for the match in the fourth set, before the Brit dug in and prevailed 6-3 in the fifth set. Coming into 2025, questions were raised about his participation in the first Grand Slam of the season – having cancelled his scheduled training sessions with Carlos Alcaraz due to hip issues. However, the issue did not look to be an issue in either of his titanic matches. Draper actually won his last meeting vs the Spaniard, on the grass courts of Queens, so a fourth round meeting would be a spectacle to watch.