The 2026 Australian Open appeared set to be an all-chalk tournament, as the top four seeds all made it to the semifinals, with No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 2 Jannik Sinner looking destined to meet in the final for the fourth consecutive grand slam.
However, both were pushed to the brink on Friday in Melbourne, as No. 3 Alexander Zverev pushed Alcaraz in a five-set thriller 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5, while No. 4 Novak Djokovic shocked Sinner (3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4) in an instant classic at Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic’s triumph was the most notable, and statistically he should’ve been overwhelmed by the defending Aussie Open champ. Nothing about the match’s box score suggests Djokovic should have won, as Sinner won more points (152 to 140), hit more winners (72 to 40) and more aces (26 to 12) and was even in unforced errors (42 to 42).
However, the wily 38-year-old veteran did what he’s done so many times over his career, dragging the match out into deep water and frustrating Sinner by forcing him deep into points and making it impossible for the Italian to ever fully take control.
That was most notable on the Djokovic serve, where he was able to dig deep and come up with his best when his back was against the wall. Sinner won just 2 of 18 break point opportunities against Djokovic in the match, as the veteran continually found shots when he had to have them to stay on serve.
On the other side, Sinner only yielded eight break opportunities throughout the match, but Djokovic seized those chances to win three of them, which was just enough to get over the line. For Sinner, it snaps a streak of five consecutive trips to a grand slam final, while Djokovic now stands on the precipice of history as he seeks an 11th Australian Open title and 25th career grand slam title.
To get there, he’ll have to beat the other young star at the top of the men’s tennis world.
Alcaraz outlasts Zverev in five-hour marathon
Alcaraz needed five hours and 27 minutes to dispatch Zverev in his semifinal in a match where break points were also at a premium. Zverev only broke the Alcaraz serve twice (on seven break point chances), but the German was excellent on his serve and was able to fight back after Alcaraz jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first two sets.
The second, third and fourth sets all went to tiebreakers, with Zverev’s serving prowess winning him the third and fourth in those tiebreaks. However, in the fifth set, Alcaraz’s unbelievable stamina showed itself in the biggest moment of the match, pouncing on a break chance to win at 6-5 by coming up with a stunning forehand on the run to force an error from Zverev at the net.
It was a perfect Alcaraz ending, producing a magical shot just when it seemed his opponent had him on the ropes, and now he heads to his first-ever Australian Open final.
Historic Australian Open final set
Sunday’s final will be the six-time grand slam champ against the 24-time champ, with both coming out of grueling five-set matches that asked everything of both men.
One would think that would benefit the younger Alcaraz, but given the way Djokovic has been dodging raindrops this tournament, the young Spaniard will need to bring his A-game and try to put Djokovic in a deep hole early. If he allows the Serbian star to hang around, he might find himself in the same position as Sinner, wondering how Djokovic ended up triumphant.
If Alcaraz is successful on Sunday, he’ll become the youngest man to ever complete the career grand slam and the first man to win seven grand slam titles before the age of 23. Djokovic, meanwhile, would become the second oldest grand slam champion in history at 38 years old — and would be the oldest in the Open Era. A 25th title for the Joker would also make him the winningest player in grand slam history, men’s or women’s, breaking his tie with Margaret Court.
If that match is anything close to what we saw in the semifinals, it’ll be an all-timer in Melbourne. We’ll have to see how both men recover from a pair of mentally and physically draining matches, but given both have built their careers out of incredible stamina, one would expect them to tap deep into their reserves to find an elite level again for Sunday.
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