Carlos Alcaraz wins second set vs. Djokovic and equalizes Australian Open final | ATP tour | Tennis

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Alcaraz wins second set vs. Djokovic and equalizes the Australian Open final

The Spaniard is chasing his first Melbourne crown to complete Career Grand Slam
February 1, 2026

Carlos Alcaraz has bounced back after Novak Djokovic’s blistering start to level Sunday’s Australian Open championship match 2-6, 6-2. The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings shook off a shaky start against the 10-time record champion to come within two sets of completing the Career Grand Slam.

Alcaraz broke Djokovic’s serve twice in the second set and came roaring back into contention in his first Australian Open final. If the 22-year-old Alcaraz can ride that wave and lift the trophy in Melbourne, he will become the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era (winning the singles title in all four majors). The current holder of that record is Alcaraz’s fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who sits in the stands at Rod Laver Arena watching two of his former ATP Tour rivals do battle.

TIDES TURN 🌊

Alcaraz wins the second set 6-2 and equalizes this match… 👀#AustralianOpen | #Alcaraz pic.twitter.com/cW9BY73W15

— ATP tour (@atptour) February 1, 2026

Djokovic looked fresh despite his five-set marathon semi-final victory against 2024 and 2025 champion Jannik Sinner on Friday evening and had been hitting the ball aggressively from the first match at Rod Laver Arena. The 38-year-old, who is bidding to lift a 25th all-time Grand Slam trophy and also become the oldest men’s singles titlist at a major in the Open Era, barely put a foot wrong in a statement in the opening set, but Alcaraz quickly leveled the score with a much-improved performance in the second set.

Djokovic, who has never lost an Australian Open title match, has been trying to break Alcaraz and Sinner’s stranglehold on the majors in recent years: the pair have won the past eight Grand Slam titles together. If he can follow up his triumph against the No. 2 seed in the PIF ATP Rankings Sinner by also beating Alcaraz, the Serbian will become only the ninth player to have defeated the top two seeds on his way to a major crown.

As he did against Sinner, Djokovic came out determined to dictate play with his forehand in his 11th Australian Open final, and the Serb grabbed the first three break points of the match in the fourth game. Although Alcaraz held his nerve to fend off the first two, Djokovic had the upper hand in an extended grassroots rally on the third to gain an early lead.

Alcaraz, who contested the longest semi-final in tournament history against Alexander Zverev on Friday, was unusually flat in the early stages. According to Infosys Stats, Djokovic skillfully capitalized on his momentum by breaking his opponent’s serve again in the eighth game to capture a set where he was just two points behind serve.

Alcaraz had to find a way to stop Djokovic’s opening attack and benefited from a slice of fortune en route to his first break of the match early in the second set. At 1-1, 15/15 on Djokovic’s serve, the Spaniard fired a forehand that clipped the net, looped and somehow ended up spinning into the net on Djokovic’s side. The top seed broke his rival for a second time in the seventh game and he quickly served to level the match before letting out a roar.