ATP Tour

Alcaraz wins third set vs. Djokovic, leads 2-1 in Australian Open final

Carlos Alcaraz has bounced back in style after Novak Djokovic’s blistering start to take a 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 lead in Sunday’s Australian Open championship match. The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings is now just one set away from a maiden Melbourne title, with which he would complete the Career Grand Slam.

After an uncharacteristically flat opening set, Alcaraz locked in from the baseline to take charge against record 10-time Australian Open champion Djokovic. The Spaniard broke his rival’s serve twice en route to the second set and appeared back to his free-flowing best in a third set featuring several stunning all-court exchanges.

JUST ONE SET STANDS IN HIS WAY 👀

Alcaraz takes the third 6-3 after an epic of a set 🚀#AustralianOpen | #Alcaraz pic.twitter.com/iZI04yQIIE

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 1, 2026

If the 22-year-old Alcaraz can go on to 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 at all four majors). The current holder of that record is Alcaraz’s fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who is in the stands inside Rod Laver Arena watching two of his former ATP Tour rivals do battle.

Djokovic, who has never lost an Australian Open title match, is bidding to snap Alcaraz and Sinner’s stranglehold on the majors in recent years: the pair has won the past eight Grand Slam titles between them. If he can follow his triumph against the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings Sinner by also overcoming Alcaraz, the Serbian will be just the ninth player to have defeated the top two seeds en route to a major crown.

Appearing fresh despite his marathon five-set semi-final victory against 2024 and 2025 champion Jannik Sinner on Friday night, Djokovic pummelled the ball aggressively from the first game inside Rod Laver Arena. The 38-year-old, who is bidding to lift an all-time record 25th 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 opening-set display, but Alcaraz quickly levelled proceedings with a much-improved showing from the second set onwards.

Djokovic, who has never lost an Australian Open title match, is bidding to snap Alcaraz and Sinner’s stranglehold on the majors in recent years: the pair has won the past eight Grand Slam titles between them. If he can follow his triumph against the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings Sinner by also overcoming Alcaraz, the Serbian will be just the ninth player to have defeated the top two seeds en route to a major crown.

Just as he had against Sinner, Djokovic came out determined to dictate play with his forehand in his 11th Australian Open final, and the Serbian carved out the opening three break points of the match in the fourth game. Although Alcaraz held his nerve to fend off the first two, Djokovic prevailed in an extended baseline rally on the third to gain an early advantage.

Alcaraz, who himself contested the longest semi-final in tournament history on Friday against Alexander Zverev, was uncharacteristically flat in the early stages. Djokovic expertly capitalised on his momentum by breaking his opponent’s serve again in the eighth game to clinch a set in which he dropped just two points behind serve, according to Infosys Stats.

Needing to find a way to stop Djokovic’s opening charge, Alcaraz benefitted 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 cord, looped up and somehow landed spinning into the net on Djokovic’s side of the court. The top seed went onto break his rival for a second time in the seventh game and he soon served out to level the match before letting out a roar.

Alcaraz’s resurgence continued into the third set. Showing no signs of fatigue from his semi-final exertions against Zverev, the Spaniard relentlessly hared around the court to repel much of what Djokovic threw at him. The crowd was on its feet after Alcaraz won an electric first point of the fourth game, during which he barely believably returned a Djokovic around-the-net shot, and the top seed went on to win five of the next six games to move within a set of victory.