Spanish tennis star Carlos Alcaraz took the court Feb. 1 in Australia to compete for history.
Alcaraz faced off against tennis legend Novak Djokovic who was competing for his 11th Australian Open title. Djokovic knew this stage very well; however, all the experience came with being a 38-year-old tennis star.
On the other side, Alcaraz was fighting for his first Australian Open title at the young age of 22. Alcaraz had previously won two Wimbledon titles US Open titles and French Open titles. The final one on his checklist to complete the Career Slam, the Australian Open. This was the stars’ fifth Australian Open appearance, where the furthest he got was the quarterfinals in both 2024 and 2025.
His path was nothing short of difficult, however Alcaraz seemed to make it easy after not dropping a single set until the Semi-Finals against third ranked player, Alexander Zverev. This may have been the match of the tournament as the two battled out a five-hour-27-minute epic. Alcaraz came out on top 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (4-7), 7-5. If you do not know how tennis scoring works, it is safe to say this was a legendary showdown. Directly after the match though, Alcaraz needed to start the recovery process for his first Australian Open Final.
On the other side of the tournament, world ranked No. 2 Jannik Sinner took the court against No. 4 Djokovic. The match would also take five sets, last over 4 hours, and end around 2 a.m. on the East Coast. Djokovic would get the final push despite his age and beat the young star 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
During the post-game interview, Djokovic told the crowd, “I think you guys got the value for the ticket” according to ESPN. He later talked about the respect he had for Sinner and the talent he holds later saying, “…I told him [Sinner] at the net thanks for allowing me at least one,” also from ESPN. This might be Djokovic’s last Australian Open considering his age and the physical demand involving tennis. It’s uncommon to see someone competing the way Djokovic did for over four hours.
In the final, Djokovic came out fighting taking the first set 6-2. Following Alcaraz’s lowest scoring set of the tournament, he took the wheel and never stepped off the gas. He responded with a 6-2 second set followed by a 6-3 set. The third set displayed the point of the match with Djokovic sprinting to the left side of the court before hitting a shot around the net. This shot normally is a winner with very few players quick enough to return it; however, Alcaraz saw the vision and was able to lunge for the winning point. The play ended with all of Rod Laver Arena on their feet in applause. With one more set needed for Alcaraz, he pushed through and took it 7-5, becoming the youngest player ever to complete the Career Grand Slam at the age of 22 years and 272 days old, from an NBC New York source.
The respect continued for the two players following the match as they gave their post-game speeches to the crowd after they received their accolades. Alcaraz started by acknowledging Djokovic and his journey along with the viewership he brought to the sport. “for me I just enjoy so much watching you play, for me it’s been an honor sharing the locker, sharing the court and watching you play so thank you very much for what you’re doing because it is very inspiring to me,” he said. No matter how hard these two athletes compete against each other, they will always have respect for one another.
With Djokovic nearing the end of his career, it is a question on everyone’s mind when he will retire, and whether he will get another chance to add to his record-breaking 24 Grand Slam Singles titles.
As for Alcaraz, there is no limit to what he can accomplish in his career. Already collecting seven Grand Slam Singles titles at the age of 22, the young star looks to follow in other legends’ footsteps such as Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and his most recent opponent, Djokovic. Setting records already, the next decade of men’s tennis could very well belong to him.