2026 Australian Open: Rolex Ambassador Alcaraz comes from behind to defeat Djokovic, claiming his first Australian Open title

On February 1st, 2026, the Australian Open concluded in Beijing time. In the headline men's singles final, Rolex ambassador Alcaraz battled through four sets to overturn the ten-time champion Djokovic with a score of 2-6/6-2/6-3/7-5, winning his first Australian Open men's singles title. This victory completed his set of Grand Slam trophies, making him the youngest male player in the Open Era to achieve a career Grand Slam at 22 years and 272 days old.

Alcaraz crowns himself with a career Grand Slam

In their previous nine encounters, Djokovic held a slight edge with five wins to Alcaraz’s four, including a win at last year’s Australian Open. Notably, Spanish tennis legend Nadal attended the match as a spectator. From the start, both players showed excellent form. In the fourth game, Djokovic applied strong pressure on return games, converting his third break point to extend the lead to 4-1. He then broke again near the end of the set to take the opening set 6-2. In the second set, Djokovic faltered in the third game with a series of errors, handing his service game away; Alcaraz seized the momentum and broke again at the set’s close to win 6-2, leveling the match.

Djokovic

In the third set, Djokovic’s physical disadvantage persisted. Despite saving four set points in the ninth game, he was broken for the second time in the set and lost it 3-6, falling behind 1-2 in sets. In the fourth set, both players had break point opportunities in the first ten games but defended successfully. However, in the crucial service game that neither could afford to lose, Djokovic’s first serve percentage dropped, and he narrowly lost the set 5-7.

Alcaraz

This marks Alcaraz’s seventh Grand Slam singles title in his career. After this match, their head-to-head record is tied at 5-5. With 2000 ranking points and 4.15 million Australian dollars in prize money earned, Alcaraz further strengthened his lead as world number one and expanded his gap over Sinner to 3350 points.

Alcaraz’s path to the title

Round 1: 6-3/7-6(2)/6-2 Walton

Round 2: 7-6(4)/6-3/6-2 Hanfmann

Round 3: 6-2/6-4/6-1 Moutet [32]

Round 4: 7-6(6)/6-4/7-5 Paul [19]

Quarterfinals: 7-5/6-2/6-1 De Minaur [6]

Semifinals: 6-4/7-6(5)/6-7(3)/6-7(4)/7-5 Zverev [3]

Final: 2-6/6-2/6-3/7-5 Djokovic [4]

(Written and edited by: Dato)