They’ve contested the past two Wimbledon finals and played off for gold in Paris last year, next Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic meet at Melbourne Park in an Australian Open quarter-final for the ages.

Never before, though, have Djokovic and Alcaraz met in a quarter-final. Players of their grand stature are only supposed to meet at the pointy end of tournaments, like when Alcaraz denied the super Serb in the past two Wimbledon title deciders, before the 24-times major champ completed an elusive golden slam in Paris last August.

FILE - Italy’s Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Netherlands’ Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup final tennis match between Netherlands and Italy at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, File)

Alcaraz has hit his usual highlight-reel shots from time to time and Djokovic has dropped only two sets, but the nature of their paths to the last eight has been unexpected. From the moment the draw was made,