He beats Djokovic in the final to clinch maiden Australian Open title
Melbourne: Carlos Alcaraz is the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam after securing the Australian Open title against Novak Djokovic, who had never lost in his 10 previous finals at Melbourne Park.
The top-ranked Alcaraz dropped the first set on Sunday as Djokovic went out hard in pursuit of a record 25th major title, but he dug deep to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5. As he was leaving the court, he signed the lens of the TV camera with a note of recognition: “Job finished. 4/4 Complete.”
Both players were coming off grueling five-set semifinal wins and showed phenomenal fitness, athleticism and stamina for just over three hours in pursuit of their own historic achievements.
Neither player was willing to relent on the big points – and there were many of them. In the end, Alcaraz was able to convert 5 of the 16 breakpoints he set up. Djokovic converted two of his six.
Djokovic’s push for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title has now been blocked by Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner for nine majors.
Djokovic edged Sinner in the semifinals and was aiming to be the oldest man to win a Grand Slam title in the Open era, but didn’t quite make it against Alcaraz.
