History Is on the Line for Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open Final

MELBOURNE, Australia — In advance of the 2026 Australian Open men’s singles final pitting Carlos Alcaraz against Novak Djokovic in a match for history, a dispatch from Melbourne.

After the Commonwealth of Tennis caught its collective breath on Saturday morning Melbourne time, as the sun was beginning to peak out and spread over Southern Australia, the numbers came fast and furious. Novak Djokovic, 38 years and 255 days old, had just defeated Janik Sinner, 3–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 6–4. One of the signature wins of his career—which of course is saying something—Djokovic saved eight break points in the tense final set alone. He snapped a five-match losing streak to Sinner. He returned to the final of the major he first won in (gulp) 2008. He did not leave the grounds until after 3:00 a.m. local time.

Yet this round number, sometimes getting lost in granular statistics, looms largest: 25. It’s a silver anniversary, but it’s pure gold for Djokovic. A 25th major singles title represents his entire motivation for playing at this point. It would set the future bar still higher. It would enable him to eclipse Margaret Court as tennis’s all-time major singles champion, men’s or women’s. (Yes, it’s apples and oranges, but in a Jordanian way, the great ones source motivation anywhere they can.) A 25th major, as Djokovic crowds age 39, would also make him the oldest winner in tennis history.

On Friday night and into Saturday morning, Djokovic solved his own riddle—one he alluded to in his quarterfinal press conference. Twenty years ago, at the beginning of his career, he was a chaser. What rookie isn’t? Eventually, of course, he not only caught up to Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but he passed them. But chasing at 38 is a different proposition, especially when the two guys ahead of you are 15 years your junior. Why is Djokovic, already the GOAT, still doing this? Last night’s semifinal answered that question. And, now, here he is, back in a major final for the first time in more than a year.

To clear the last hurdle, Djokovic will need to overcome the great Alcaraz and thwart his bid for the Career Slam. And there are more than a few signs of hope here: Djokovic leads their head-to-head 5–4. He beat Alcaraz at this very event last year, Djokovic’s best win of 2025.

Above all, there is Djokovic’s track record, against the same opponent no less, when history is in the offing. In the summer of 2024, Djokovic faced Alcaraz in the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics. As Djokovic later put it, he had convinced himself that there was no way he was going to leave the court as anything other than the champion.

Though Alcaraz also won a punishing five-setter in the Australian Open semifinals, he had the advantage of playing first—at this stage, every hour matters. He beat Djokovic in their previous encounter, the 2025 U.S. Open. And he’s 15 years younger.

After 12 days of predictable results and unremarkable matches, the tournament blazed to life on Friday. On Sunday night, the 2026 Australian Open will finish strong, mirroring the career of Djokovic, the greatest champion this sport has ever known.

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