All the History on the Line for Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz in Australian Open Final

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet in the Australian Open final | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

The men’s Australian Open final is a tale of two eras. There’s Novak Djokovic, still showcasing his longevity and greatness at 38 years old. Then, there’s Carlos Alcaraz, the ATP world No. 1 and half of tennis’ “new two” along with world No. 2 Jannik Sinner.

Djokovic fell to his knees and threw his arms in the air in triumph after he shocked Sinner in five sets to take out the Italian in the semifinals, converting on three break points in eight tries while saving 16 of Sinner’s 18 break opportunities. He’s been searching for an elusive 25th major title for the past two years following his most recent major win, which came at the 2023 U.S. Open and capped a year where he won three of the four majors.

Since then, Alcaraz and Sinner have taken all eight majors over the past two years. After two wild semifinal matches in Melbourne, though, Djokovic has an opportunity to create a storybook ending by taking out the two top-ranked players to claim a historic 25th major.

That’s quite the task, especially when you consider Alcaraz has not lost in a major since he fell to Sinner at the All England Club last year. A win over Djokovic in Melbourne would be historic for Alcaraz in its own right in a continued battle with Sinner as the two jockey for tennis supremacy over the next decade-plus.

Ahead of the Australian Open men’s final, here’s the history on the table for both Alcaraz and Djokovic:

What’s at stake for Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open final?

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev in his semifinal match | Mike Frey-Imagn Images

The biggest question surrounding the new age of men’s tennis is who will accomplish a career Grand Slam first, Sinner or Alcaraz? Alcaraz has the first shot this season as the world No. 1 looks for his first Australian Open win. The Spaniard has had a bit of an Australia problem prior to this year, making his first run to the semifinal at the AO just recently. Last year, Djokovic defeated Alcaraz in four sets (4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 6–4) when the two met in the quarterfinals.

They would meet again at the U.S. Open later in the year where Alcaraz came out on top in a semifinal match before he went on to defeat Sinner in the final and claim his sixth major at just 22 years old. If Alcaraz falls to Djokovic, Sinner will have a shot to get the career Grand Slam first if he can win this year’s French Open. He nearly came away with a win at Roland Garros last year, but squandered three championship points as Alcaraz made a furious comeback to win the French Open in one of the greatest matches you’ll ever see.

Sinner would not have accomplished a career Grand Slam at that point if he held off Alcaraz, but he would have a month later with his first win at Wimbledon where he got revenge on Alcaraz in the final. Now, Alcaraz has the best shot in the race for a career Grand Slam, just one win away. Djokovic is out in front 5–4 on Alcaraz head-to-head. In majors, however, Alcaraz leads 3–2. The two met in the Wimbledon final in 2023 and ‘24, both won by Alcaraz as Djokovic has yet to defeat the Spanish phenom in a major final.

Both Alcaraz and Sinner, 24, will almost certainly complete the career Grand Slam at some point as they continue to dominate the sport. The question is, who will get bragging rights between the friends and rivals by doing it first?

Why an Australian Open win for Novak Djokovic would be historic

Novak Djokovic defeated Jannik Sinner in an instant classic | Mike Frey-Imagn Images

The 38-year-old Djokovic has chased an elusive 25th major for some time, with the new wave of Alcaraz and Sinner winning each major over the past two years. He already holds the record for the most major wins in tennis history—Djokovic’s 24 majors are more than Rafael Nadal (22), Roger Federer (20) and Pete Sampras (14).

No player, men’s or women’s, has won 25 majors. Margaret Court has 24 major victories as well. The Australian star dominated women’s tennis from 1960 to ‘73. Court won 11 Australian Opens with Djokovic currently sitting at 10 wins in Melbourne, his most victories across the four majors. Nadal holds the record for most wins at a single major with 14 French Open titles.

Surpassing Court isn’t necessarily the history on the line for Djokovic as men’s and women’s are two separate disciplines, but major No. 25 would put a neat bow on Djokovic’s greatness, moving further past his biggest rivals of Nadal and Federer. With the “New Two” of Sinner and Alcaraz taking the torch from the Big Three of Djokovic, Federer and Nadal, toppling both young superstars on the way to a 25th major would be one of the greatest feats in recent memory.

Let’s be clear, while a 25th major is in Djokovic’s sights, a win at the Australian Open would not send him off into the sunset. He made a run to the semifinal in each major last year and eclipses that in his first try in 2026. At 38 years old, he continues to compete at the highest level of tennis alongside the ascendant Alcaraz and Sinner. He’s one of the biggest threats to dethrone the top two players in each tournament they compete in. And like we saw in Melbourne, he’s still the best bet to actually do it until further notice.

With a win over Alcaraz, Djokovic would become the oldest man to win a major title in the Open Era, surpassing Ken Rosewall who won the Australian Open at 37 years old in 1972.

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