Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz meet in a blockbuster Australian Open final where, one way or another, history will be made.
Djokovic is one win away from the standalone record of 25 grand slam singles titles and, at 38, is bidding to become the oldest grand slam champion in the Open era. At the other end of the scale, world No 1 Alcaraz can become the youngest man of all time to complete the career grand slam, at the age of 22.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have previously met in two grand slam finals, with Alcaraz beating him twice at Wimbledon. But Djokovic won an epic Olympics final in Paris around 18 months ago, before beating Alcaraz in last year’s Australian Open quarter-finals.
And after ending Jannik Sinner’s dominant run, as well as breaking the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly of finals, no one will be counting Djokovic out this time, although both men will have to recover from marathon efforts in the semi-finals.
“I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to go toe to toe with him,” Djokovic said. “That’s my desire, and then let the gods decide the winner.”
Follow live updates from the Australian Open final, below
What happened in Carlos Alcaraz’s semi-final?
Carlos Alcaraz proved why he is the five-set king of tennis as the world No 1 won defeated Alexander Zverev to keep his career grand slam bid alive in five hours and 27 minutes.
Alcaraz looked to be cruising into his first Australian Open final without dropping a set as he led third seed Zverev after two close sets, but as he neared the finish line at 4-4 in the third, the 22-year-old dramatically pulled up, stretching his right leg.
With his movement severely limited, Alcaraz was in serious danger as Zverev forced the fourth set on a tiebreak and then won another tiebreak to take it into the decider. Zverev then broke Alcaraz’s serve in the first game of the fifth.
But the Spaniard somehow managed to hang on, giving himself time to recover physically as the semi-final became the longest ever played at the Australian Open. As Zverev served for the match, Alcaraz broke back, winning the final four games in a row 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (4-7) 7-5.
“It’s one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played in my short career,” Alcaraz said. “I’ve been in this kind of matches before, so I knew what I had to do. I had to put my heart into the match.”
As Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz eye history, the blueprint for both is clear
Sometimes, a sporting contest comes along that is so seismic, so loaded with narrative, that history is guaranteed either way.
On Sunday evening in Melbourne, one of Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz will claim a career-defining achievement. Djokovic, at 38, stands a win away from a 25th grand slam singles title that would given him the sole ownership of the all-time record, and make him the oldest grand slam champion in the Open era. Alcaraz, at 22, can become the youngest man in history to complete the career grand slam, should he win the Australian Open title that completes the set.
Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz start time and how to watch Australian Open final
When is Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz?
The men’s final at the Australian Open between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz will begin from 8:30am GMT (UK time).
Is the Australian Open on TV?
The tournament will be shown live on TNT Sports in the UK as well as online on Discovery+.
In the US, it will be shown live on ESPN and Tennis Channel.
Hello and welcome
One way or another, history will be made in the Australian Open final on Sunday as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz meet with two career-defining achievements on the line.
After one of the most dramatic semi-final days the tournament has seen, Djokovic returned to his 11th Australian Open final by stunning the defending champion Jannik Sinner in five sets to move one win away from the standalone record of 25 grand slam singles titles. Djokovic, at 38, is also bidding to become the oldest Australian Open champion of all time.
At the other end of the scale, world No 1 Alcaraz can become the youngest man of all time to complete the career grand slam, at the age of 22, after reaching his first Australian Open final. The Spaniard triumphed in five hours and 27 minutes to beat Alexander Zverev in five sets on Friday, in the longest semi-final in the tournament’s history.
Alcaraz and Djokovic have previously met in two grand slam finals, with Alcaraz beating him twice at Wimbledon. But Djokovic won an epic Olympics final in Paris 18 months ago, before beating Alcaraz in last year’s Australian Open quarter-finals. After ending Sinner’s dominant run, and breaking the Sinner-Alcaraz duopoly of finals, no one will be counting Djokovic out this time.
