Australian Open 2026: Carlos Alcaraz beats Novak Djokovic to complete career Grand Slam in Melbourne
For both superstars, history was at stake in what was a highly anticipated finale, bringing a fine end to a highly anticipated Australian Open.
After Friday’s tough semi-finals, neither player trained on Saturday and everyone was wondering how they would perform on Sunday.
Djokovic stated that Alcaraz had the advantage in this regard, considering the 16-year age difference, but the experienced player made fun of this difference with a fast start.
Moving sharply, Djokovic used his superior tennis IQ to carefully build points in a way that Alcaraz could not calculate; just like how he confused the Spaniard in last year’s quarter-finals.
The locked-in Djokovic held his serve comfortably thanks to the precision of his opening shot and the accuracy of his groundstrokes, setting the platform for Alcaraz to take a 3-1 lead.
Continuing to gain angle and distance from his opponent, Djokovic consolidated comfortably and took the lead 4-1, breaking the opening set once again and putting an end to the game.
The next question was how long Djokovic could maintain this level.
Much emphasis has been placed on Djokovic’s good fortune for two weeks, but he lucked out in the third game of the second set when he helped Alcaraz break a remarkable net cordon.
The attitude was brutal and making it 1-1 15-15 was crucial in changing the momentum.
From this point on, Djokovic’s serve lacked the same precision and his groundstrokes were not as effective.
Alcaraz won four of the next five games to tie the match, keeping her foot on the pedal as she braked twice in the third set to take the lead.
However, Djokovic is not a man who can be defeated easily.
He had six break points in the second game of the fourth set, then created a chance for himself by using Alcaraz’s serve in the ninth game.
Alcaraz kept his composure in the baseline duel, where Djokovic eventually pushed a forehand long, which proved to be vital.
By the end of the set, the conversations continued to be intense, but Djokovic blinked first.
After being rocked by Alcaraz’s deep return for 15-30, he fired another forehand into the goal on championship point.
