The GOAT isn’t done yet.
Novak Djokovic will play for an 11th Australian Open title and record 25th major championship against Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday after he put on a heroic effort to dethrone two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in 4 hours, 6 minutes in Rod Laver Arena.
After benefiting from a walkover and a retirement in his previous two matches, Djokovic is back in a major final after losing in the semis of all four majors in 2025. He is 10-0 in Australian Open finals.
No. 2 Sinner entered with 19 straight Australian Open wins, 20 consecutive Tour wins and five straight victories over No. 4 Djokovic.
Sinner had also appeared in five straight major finals.
“Honestly, it feels like winning [the title] already tonight,” Djokovic told Jim Courier on court.
“But I know I have to come back in couple of days, well, less than a couple of days, and fight the No. 1 in the world,” Djokovic added. “So I just hope that I’ll have enough gas to stay toe to toe with him. You know, that’s my desire. And then let the God decide the winner.”
Alcaraz will also be playing for history, as he is bidding to become the youngest man ever at 22 to win the career Grand Slam. Djokovic leads Alcaraz 5-4 all-time, but the Spaniard won their most recent match in last year’s U.S. Open semifinals in straight sets.
After that U.S. Open loss, Djokovic discussed the difficulty of facing Alcaraz and Sinner in Grand Slams.
“I lost three out of four slams in semis against these guys, so they’re just too good, you know, playing on a really high level,” he said.
“That’s kind of what I felt this year also with Jannik. Yeah, best-of-five makes it very, very difficult for me to play them. Particularly if it’s like the end stages of the Grand Slam.”
Asked about that quote after beating Sinner, Djokovic told Courier, “I wasn’t wrong. I said it would be very difficult, but not impossible.”
Sinner took a two-sets-to-one lead when he broke Djokovic to take the third set. The Serb tried a delicate lob over Sinner that landed long.
Djokovic broke to start the fourth set for a 1-0 lead and went on to level the match at two sets all.
Serving at 1-2 in the fifth set, Djokovic saved two break points, one with a two-handed backhand winner up the line, another with a massive forehand winner up the line.
The Serb then broke the Italian for 4-3 when Sinner sailed a forehand wide.
Djokovic then pulled a Houdini by escaping from 0-40 on his serve and holding with an ace up the T for 5-3. He saved 10 consecutive break points during this stretch.
Serving at 5-4 in the fifth, Djokovic had an easy forehand lined up for a winner but he hit it back to Sinner who was able to return it and win the point.
The Serb eventually closed it out when Sinner hit a backhand wide on the second match point.
“I told him at the net, ‘Thanks for allowing me at least one the last couple of years,’” Djokovic said. “I have tremendous respect for him. Incredible player. I mean, he pushes you to the very limit which is what he did tonight to me. So he deserves a great round of applause.”
Djokovic will now face Alcaraz, whom he beat in the quarterfinals a year ago before retiring with an injury against Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz beat Zverev in five sets in the first semifinal, the second-longest major semifinal in men’s history, while dealing with cramping and an adductor issue in his right leg.
“I saw Carlos after the match, and he told me, ‘I’m sorry to delay the start of your match,’” Djokovic explained. “And I told him, ‘I’m an old man. I need to go earlier to sleep, I’m looking forward to seeing him in few days.”
