Carlos Alcaraz was a phantom for the first 45 minutes of his maiden Australian Open final. While the Spaniard was painfully tentative on one of the most significant occasions of his career, he was suffocated by the eternal brilliance of Novak Djokovic, who burst into this historic match playing some of his best tennis in recent years.
A younger version of Alcaraz may have compounded his slow start by overhitting, as was the case during parts of their fateful Olympic battle in Paris 18 months ago, but here he calmly worked his way into the match and then took control. In the process, he pulled off one of the great sporting achievements in recent years, recovering from a set down to defeat Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 and triumph at the Australian Open for the first time in his career.
This sport has produced many legendary young champions, from Björn Borg to Rafael Nadal, a witness from the first row on Rod Laver Arena. Alcaraz, however, continues to make his claim as the greatest young male tennis player that has ever lived.
At only 22, Alcaraz is the youngest man to complete the career grand slam, a record that had been held by Don Budge since 1938, 87 years ago. Only eight other men have won all four grand slam titles. “Completing a career grand slam was something that was on my mind,” said Alcaraz. “Every time that I come here to Australia, I made the pre-season just with my mind into this tournament to try to work as hard as I can and to be as well-prepared as I can, you know, to play this tournament and trying to get the trophy. In the previous years I haven’t gone in a good way, but I am really happy that I just push myself to be better and finally came this year.”
Thanks to Djokovic’s astounding five-set defeat of Jannik Sinner on Friday, this was a historic occasion regardless of the outcome. By defeating Djokovic, he denied the Serb what would have been a crowning achievement of his peerless career as he tried to become the oldest grand slam champion in the open era and owner of an all-time record 25 grand slam singles titles.
This was a mature, composed performance from a special athlete who has already established himself as a legend of the game. Alcaraz started slowly as Djokovic performed at a staggering level, serving precisely and looking to take every last ball on the rise, striking his forehand so cleanly as he snatched the first set.
Alcaraz slowly worked himself into the match but, rather than simply blasting through the 38-year-old, he intelligently forced Djokovic off the court with his width and angles, while soaking up the Serb’s extreme aggression with his peerless defence. Djokovic struggled physically towards the end, but he put up a spectacular last stand in the fourth set. The Serb fought admirably, generating a break point at 4-4 on Alcaraz’s serve that could have transformed the match. However, Alcaraz recovered and handled the situation to close out a monumental win.
While some players would have publicly shied away from the pressure of trying to complete the career grand slam, Alcaraz has welcomed it. In recent months, the Spaniard repeatedly stressed that he wanted this title more than any other tournament in the world right now, and he would trade multiple titles at the other three slams for his first Australian Open crown. Once again, his inner belief is far stronger than the pressure that follows his lofty ambitions.
“Sometimes you don’t stop yourself and think about what you’re doing,” said Djokovic. “What I’ve learned this year is about appreciate and enjoy every single second of the moment you’re living. Not only lifting the trophies, but playing tournaments, playing tennis, getting victories, getting losses. Whatever it is, just enjoy and appreciate the life you’re living.
“So right now I’m just trying to have time to realise what I’ve been doing. I know I’m doing history with some trophies, some tournaments, some achievement that I’ve been getting. For me it’s an honour to put my name on the history books.”
There is an added layer of satisfaction here. It is still only six weeks since Alcaraz shocked the tennis world by splitting with his longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero and promoting Samuel López, previously Ferrero’s deputy, to be his head coach. Plenty of criticism and doubt followed. Alcaraz responded to the noise by winning the very next major, the tournament he was most desperate to win. It was the perfect response and, in the process, Alcaraz became the youngest man in history to win seven grand slam titles.
Alcaraz’s victory denied Djokovic his own chance to make more history, but this was still a magnificent tournament for the 24-time grand slam champion, who continues to perform at such a high level after so many years in competition. “I always believe I can [win],” said Djokovic. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be competing, and I said this numerous times. It’s great that I was able to beat Jannik in five and really battle Carlos in four close sets. I remain disappointed with the way I felt in second and third after an incredible start, and I felt great about myself and then, yeah, things changed.
“It is what it is. That’s sport, but of course, when you draw a line and you make, you know, assessment of what happened last couple of weeks, it’s incredible achievement for me to be able to play finals, be couple of sets away maybe to win a championship.”
