Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic in four sets, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5, to win the 2026 Australian Open on Sunday, dashing Djokovic’s hopes of a 25th Grand Slam victory and cementing his status as the No. 1 player in the world.
The win gave Alcaraz his career Grand Slam and his seventh major win at just 22 years old. He joins the 38-year-old Djokovic, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who did it at 24 years old, as the only men to complete the career Grand Slam in the Open era.
This final marked the first grand slam final since last year’s Australian Open that didn’t feature both Alcaraz and Sinner, the world No. 2, who fell to Djokovic in five sets in the semifinals. Djokovic, meanwhile, hadn’t appeared in a major final since 2024, when he fell to none other than Alcaraz at Wimbledon. Alcaraz, meanwhile, had never made it past the quarterfinals at the Australian Open until this year.
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On Sunday, Djokovic dominated early and ultimately took the first set, but Alcaraz gained momentum in the second set, breaking Djokovic in the third and seventh games, and never lost the advantage. In the third set, Alcaraz didn’t lead until the fifth game, and Djokovic kept it close until the decisive ninth game. Djokovic didn’t let Alcaraz off easy in the fourth set, trading points until the 11th and 12 games, where a string of unforced errors gave Alcaraz match point and the win.
Alcaraz converted five of his 16 break points, while Djokovic converted two of six. Djokovic also had 46 unforced errors to Alcaraz’s 27.
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Until now, Djokovic had never lost an Australian Open final, winning a whopping 10 since 2008.
After the match, Alcaraz called Djokovic “inspiring,” and the runner-up heaped praise on Alcaraz while joking about the future.
“What you’ve been doing … the best word to describe it is historic, legendary,” Djokovic said. “So congratulations. I wish you [the] best of luck for the rest of your career. You’re so young. You have a lot of time, like myself. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other many times in the next 10 years.”
While he’s been reticent to talk about retirement, Djokovic did offer somewhat of a farewell, possibly in case this is his final Australian Open.
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“God knows what happens tomorrow, let alone in six months or 12 months, so it has been a great ride,” Djokovic said. “I love you guys.”
This breaking news story will be updated.
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