The Kid Blinks

After Novak Djokovic stumbled, it was Carlos Alcaraz who dropped.

MELBOURNE, Australia — I’ve watched dozens of Novak Djokovic matches on Rod Laver Arena, but his first contest here against Carlos Alcaraz covered new ground.

So many of the classic matches Djokovic played here before, particularly against Andy Murray—a five-time opponent for Djokovic here, including four times in finals—were metronomic, monotonous meeti…