Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man ever to complete a career Grand Slam after securing the Australian Open title against Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Twenty-two-year-old Alcaraz came from a set down to beat Djokovic (2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5) to become the youngest man to achieve a career grand slam. He broke the mark set by Don Budge in the 1938 French championships, when he was 22 years and 363 days. He also became the ninth man in tennis history to win all four majors.
Djokovic, a 10-time Australian Open champion, began with a lightning-fast start, taking the first set in just 33 minutes, but Alcaraz rallied to win the next three sets. Though Djokovic battled valiantly - the fourth set looked to be headed for a tiebreak- he was no match for Alcaraz’s remarkable comeback, thereby robbing the Serb of his chance to win a record-breaking 25th grand slam title.
However, both players displayed phenomenal fitness, athleticism and stamina despite having a gruelling five-set semifinal wins. Djokovic defeated world No. 2 Jannik Sinner in a five-set semifinal on Friday, while Alcaraz beat Alexander Zverev in a record semi-final that lasted a whopping five hours and 27 minutes.
Once he sealed the victory, Alcaraz paid tribute to Djokovic for being an inspiration. "You're talking about how I'm doing the things, amazing things, but what you're doing is really inspiring," the Spaniard said at the trophy ceremony after grabbing the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup. "Not only for the tennis players, but also for the athletes, all the people around the world. And for me, as well. For me, I just enjoyed so much watching you play so much. It's been an honour sharing the locker (room),” he added.
He also thanked his support team. "Nobody knows how hard I've been working to get this trophy. I just chased this moment so much," Alcaraz said. “The pre-season was a bit of a rollercoaster emotionally. We just did the right work, you were pushing me every day to do all the right things," he shared about his coach, Samuel Lopez. He parted ways with longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero at the end of last season.
Djokovic too lavished praise on Alcaraz. "What you have been doing, the best word to describe it is historic. Legendary," Djokovic said."I wish you the best of luck for the rest of your career. You're so young, you have a lot of time, like myself. I'm sure we will be seeing a lot of each other over the next 10 years... not!" Djokovic thanked his team for supporting him in his quest for a record-extending 11th Melbourne Park title”.
In his runner-up speech, Djokovic also said how he did not expect to be standing at a Grand Slam trophy ceremony again."I have belief, and I have always confidence and vision to win a Slam, a Slam anywhere, to win anywhere where I play, but I did not expect it. That's different," he said later. He also joked about how Alcaraz and Sinner would continue to be in his way at the majors.
"The two of them, I guess, are going to be fighting for the biggest titles, and then the youngsters like myself are going to try to catch up," he added to the amusement of the crowd.
Alcaraz now has seven major titles - his first in Australia, along with two each at Wimbledon and the French and U.S. Opens.
