History is on the road in Sunday’s Australian Open men’s final that includes top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz towards No. 4 Novak Djokovic, who’s going for his record-extending twenty fifth profession grand slam. Djokovic gained an exhilarating five-setter over Jannik Sinner within the semifinals after a walkover within the fourth spherical and a “lucky” quarters win whereas Alcaraz beat Alexander Zverev in 5 after trailing 5-3 within the fifth to attain the final.
Djokovic is a 10-time Australian Open champion, final profitable the event in 2023. Alcaraz is gunning for his first profession title in Melbourne, which might give him the profession grand slam. Djokovic, 38, hinted at retirement final 12 months after shedding to Sinner within the French Open and his phrases following his US Open loss in September mirrored these remarks.
However, given his prowess on the arduous courts on the Australian Open, many thought of Djokovic a reliable risk to win in 2026 and he is matched up with a phenom he is 5-4 towards in his profession. Alcaraz and Djokovic have break up their final 4 matches, together with Alcaraz’s win within the US Open semifinals final 12 months.
They’ve met as soon as on the Australian Open with Djokovic profitable within the quarters final 12 months, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. Sunday marks Djokovic’s first grand slam finals look since 2024 when he misplaced to Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
“I never stopped believing in myself,” Djokovic mentioned after beating Sinner. “There’s a lot of people that doubt me. A lot of experts wanted to retire me or have retired me many times the last couple of years. I want to thank them all, because they gave me strength. They gave me motivation to prove them wrong, which I have tonight. For me, it’s not a surprise, to be honest.”
Let’s take a more in-depth take a look at how one can catch the motion on Sunday in addition to what you may count on from each Djokovic and Alcaraz within the match earlier than getting to a prediction and professional decide under.
Where to watch Australian Open men’s final
- Date: Feb. 1
- Location: Melbourne Park Sports and Entertainment Precinct — Melbourne, Australia
- Time: 3:30 a.m. ET
- TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (strive without spending a dime)
Djokovic utilizing ‘chasing’ comment as motivation
Following his semifinals win, Djokovic didn’t respect a query from a reporter suggesting that he spent a lot of early profession “chasing” Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and is now spending the again half doing the identical with Sinner and Alcaraz.
Djokovic made the semifinals at each grand slam final 12 months in his quest for No. 25. Sinner or Alcaraz has gained the final 4 main titles.
“I’m chasing Jannik and Carlos? In which sense?” Djokovic mentioned. “So, I’m always the chaser and never been chased? I find it a little bit disrespectful that you kind of miss out on what happened in between where the times when I started ‘chasing’ as you say Rafa and Roger and now that I’m chasing Carlos and Jannik.
“There’s in all probability a few 15-year interval in between where I used to be dominating the Grand Slams. I believe it is vital to put that in perspective. I do not really feel like I’m chasing to be sincere. Roger and Rafa will all the time be my best rivals. I’ve large respect for what Jannik and Carlos are doing and they’re going to proceed to do for the following 10, 15, 20 years, God is aware of what number of years they’re going to play. They are so younger.”
Alcaraz coming off grueling match
Alcaraz is a win shy of turning into the youngest to full the profession Grand Slam, however he’ll have to do it after a five-hour, 27-minute marathon within the semifinals. Zverev was serving for the match at 5-4 within the fifth earlier than Alcaraz bought a break and momentum carried on.
“I’m just really happy to have the chance to play my first final here in Melbourne,” Alcaraz mentioned. “It is something that I was pursuing a lot, having the chance to fight for the title.”
It was the third-longest match in Australian Open historical past.
“I’ve been in this kind of match before, so I knew what I had to do. I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it. I fought until the last ball,” Alcaraz mentioned. I knew that I used to be going to have my probabilities. I used to be passionate, you realize, within the fifth set, however simply extraordinarily proud about myself, the way in which that I felt and the way in which that I got here again.”
Men’s final prediction
FanDuel Sportsbook has Alcaraz (-320) as a substantial favourite over Djokovic to win his first Australian Open title. However, this looks like future for Djokovic contemplating there might not be many extra probabilities at historical past for the Serbian star. If he can get a lead towards Alcaraz early and never have to play from behind where age could possibly be a consider a four- to five-hour match, Djokovic would maintain a transparent benefit. There’s significantly extra strain on Alcaraz to get it accomplished inside Rod Laver Arena than Djokovic, who’s a transparent underdog. With a win, Djokovic would grow to be the oldest grand slam winner within the Open period and surpass Margaret Court for essentially the most grand slam titles all time. Pick: Djokovic in 4 units.
