World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to win all four Grand Slam tournaments, defeating Novak Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to win his first Australian Open in Melbourne on Sunday.
The 38-year-old Djokovic, who counts 10 Australian Open titles among his 24 career major victories, lost for the first time in an Australian Open. Ranked fourth in the world, he stunned World No. 2 Jannik Sinner in five sets in their semifinal match to reach his 11th final.
Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, now has seven Grand Slam wins, adding Sunday’s trophy to the two he previously won at each of the other major events — Wimbledon, the French Open and the U.S. Open.
After the match, Djokovic, of Serbia, and Alcaraz had a friendly embrace at the net that seemed to signify the official changing of the guard in men’s tennis.
Djokovic has won a record 104 main-draw matches in Melbourne. In the final set, he fought off six break points to stay on serve in the second game but Alcaraz broke serve in the final game. With Djokovic serving down 5-6 in the fourth set to try to force a tiebreaker, Alcaraz took a 40-15 lead and celebrated when a Djokovic forehand sailed long.
Alcaraz and Sinner, of Italy, have combined to win the past nine Grand Slam events since Djokovic won the U.S. Open in 2023.
–Field Level Media
