Australian Open 2026: Carlos Alcaraz defeats Novak Djokovic to complete career Grand Slam in Melbourne

History was on the line for both stars in a highly anticipated final that ensured the Australian Open ended in success.

After a grueling semi-final match on Friday, neither player practiced on Saturday, leaving everyone wondering how they would improve on Sunday.

Djokovic pointed out that Alcaraz has the advantage in this regard, given the 16-year age difference, but the veteran player made fun of this difference with a strong start.

Moving sharply, Djokovic used his superior tennis IQ to carefully rack up points in a way that Alcaraz couldn’t count — similar to how he stumped the Spaniard in last year’s quarterfinals.

Djokovic held serve comfortably thanks to the accuracy of his first shot and the precision of his groundstrokes, paving the way for a break of Alcaraz’s serve to take a 3-1 lead.

Djokovic continued to take angles and distances away from his opponent, holding on comfortably to take a 4-1 lead and breaking serve again to take the first set.

The next question was how long Djokovic could maintain this level.

Much emphasis has been placed on Djokovic’s good fortune over the fortnight, but his luck ran out in the third game of the second set when a brilliant net helped Alcaraz break back.

The approach was brutal and the score came at 1-1 and 15-15 and was decisive in changing the momentum.

From that point on, Djokovic’s serve lacked the same precision and his groundstrokes were not as powerful.

Alcaraz won four of the next five games to level the match, keeping his foot on the pedal to break serve twice in the third set and take the lead.

But Djokovic is not a man who can be easily defeated.

He overcame six break points in the second game of the fourth set and then created an opportunity of his own on Alcaraz’s serve in the ninth game.

Alcaraz kept his cool in a key duel with Djokovic finally with a long forehand – and it proved vital.

The intense exchanges continued as the set entered the end of the action, but Djokovic ducked first.

After being shaken by a deep return from Alcaraz at 15-30, he smashed another forehand into the net on championship point.