Trust Carlos Alcaraz to know a thing or two about ending Novak Djokovic’s supremacy on his favoured surfaces. In 2023, the Serb was a four-time defending champion at Wimbledon, back in the final for the ninth time, and unbeaten at the All England Club for over a decade. Pitted against Alcaraz — still new to grass and playing his maiden Wimbledon final — Djokovic, chasing a calendar Grand Slam and Roger Federer’s all-time record of nine titles at SW19, was the overwhelming favourite.
But the young Spaniard conjured magic to outlast the maestro in a five-set thriller, ending Djokovic’s long-standing reign and clinching his second Grand Slam title.
Three years later, a more complete Alcaraz, now with four additional majors to his name, again found himself being written off, despite an inspirational run to his maiden Australian Open final. And why not? On the other side of the net stood a man reborn after an out-of-this-world five-set victory over two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semifinals. Djokovic was back in a Grand Slam final for the first time in 17 months, and back in Melbourne, where the 10-time champion had never lost a final.
Yet, at the end of a riveting evening in front of a packed Rod Laver Arena, the 22-year-old once again outlasted Djokovic, derailing his bid for a historic 25th major and etching his name into the record books as the youngest man in the Open Era to complete a Career Grand Slam.
Alcaraz sealed a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 victory to lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the first time, taking his major tally to seven and drawing level with John McEnroe and Mats Wilander on the all-time list.
This is how Alcaraz forged his Melbourne milestone.
A shaky start
Despite a marathon five-set win over Sinner on Friday, Djokovic looked fresh and came out all guns blazing, employing a ploy similar to the one that had undone the Italian. Amid an uncharacteristically shaky start from Alcaraz, the 38-year-old dictated early exchanges with his forehand, breaking in the fourth and eighth games to take the opening set in just 33 minutes. He dropped only two points on serve and committed just four unforced errors.
Alcaraz turns the tables
Alcaraz announced his arrival at the top of the second set by dramatically increasing the physical tax on every point. Faster recovery between rallies, heavier pace without rushing, counter-pressure on neutral balls, and an uncanny ability to retrieve from all corners allowed him not just to suffocate Djokovic, but to flip defence into offence through raw athleticism and speed.
Forced to play with greater aggression, Djokovic began leaking errors. The 24-time Grand Slam champion committed 42 unforced errors across the final three sets — the same number he had made across five sets in the semifinal.
Much of Djokovic’s unraveling stemmed from Alcaraz’s control over rally lengths. Djokovic won five of six rallies lasting over eight shots in the opening set and dominated short exchanges (17–6), hitting more winners and committing fewer errors. But as the match wore on, Alcaraz seized control of the medium and long rallies, winning 14–9 on exchanges of nine shots or more across the final three sets, and 25–12 on rallies lasting five to eight shots in the last two.
Djokovic’s increasing desperation to force the issue, particularly in cross-court backhand exchanges, saw repeated attempts to change direction break down, either drifting long or finding the net.
Another crucial adjustment came on return. Alcaraz stood deeper against Djokovic’s second serve, an area that had troubled him in their Melbourne quarterfinal meeting a year earlier. Djokovic, who lost just one of eight points on second serve in the opening set while averaging 170 km/h, slowed his delivery by around 11 km/h in the second, a shift Alcaraz punished by winning all six second-serve points.
Even when Djokovic restored pace in the final two sets, Alcaraz adjusted his return position and neutralised the advantage, winning 62 percent of points on Djokovic’s second serve, a decisive edge that carried him to his first Australian Open crown.
