All eyes were locked on the potential of a quarter-final clash between ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and the young pretender to his crown, Carlos Alcaraz, and tennis fans have been rewarded with that dream showdown.
Djokovic has been warming to the task nicely in Melbourne, posting his most two convincing performances against Czech talents Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka, but more will clearly be asked of him against Alcaraz.
The Spaniard has dropped only one set across his four matches and he has won four of the last eight Grand Slam titles, suggesting that he is beginning to become a dominant force on the ATP Tour.
Djokovic is a 24-time Grand Slam champion, but the Serb failed to win a Major for the first time since 2017 last season and his 6-2 6-2 7-6 defeat at the hands of Alcaraz in the 2024 Wimbledon final suggests that he could struggle to keep tabs on his younger opponent.
Carlos Alcaraz -3.5 games on handicap - 5/6
Having dropped sets in his opening two assignments with Nishesh Basavareddy and Jaime Faria, Djokovic has responded with straight-set victories over Machac and Lehecka and his performances are certainly improving as the tournament progresses.
However, at 37 years of age, a Grand Slam quarter-final with Spanish sensation Alcaraz could prove beyond him.
Djokovic has lost the last two Grand Slam meetings between the pair, with Alcaraz easing to a successful Wimbledon title defence last season with a dominant 6-2 6-2 7-6 victory, having also had the Serb's measure in the All England Club final in 2023.
While Djokovic is a declining force, Alcaraz is at his peak with the potential of plenty more to come and that means this last-eight battle could be a little too demanding for the ten-time Melbourne Park king.
It must be quite telling that Djokovic was unable to claim Grand Slam glory last season and it would be an almighty effort if he could add to his haul of 24 Major titles.
Alcaraz has barely been stretched on his run to the quarter-final, dropping only one set, and he should be feeling extremely fresh after last-16 rival Jack Draper was forced to retire when trailing 7-5 6-1.
So the Spaniard, who is bidding to make his first ever Australian Open semi-final, is expected to win and he may be able triumph a shade cosily.
Djokovic may be playing well enough to get a set on the board and even if he takes it the distance, Alcaraz’s fitness should ensure he prevails and that final set could be one-way traffic.
Even so, it is hard to see and, with Alcaraz fancied to win 3-1 or better, taking him to cover a handicap start of -3.5 games at 5/6 could reap the rewards.
Under 20.5 aces - 5/6
These are arguably the two best returners in the business and a line of 20.5 aces may be high on the side.
Djokovic has had nine aces in each of his last two matches, while Alcaraz has had less than 10 in three of his four Australian Open assignments.
It will be harder for the pair to ace their opponent in this crunch clash and and in their three previous Grand Slam rivalries the ace count has reached only 11, 11 and 13.
These quicker conditions will help, but if Alcaraz is able to wrap it up quickly as hoped, then getting beyond 20 aces in the match is going to be an extremely tough task.
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Novak Djokovic - 7/4
Carlos Alcaraz - 4/9
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.