Carlos Alcaraz makes history as Novak Djokovic’s bid to break record goes on

History belonged to Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open while Novak Djokovic’s quest for a 25th grand slam title goes on.

At 22 years and 272 days old, Alcaraz is the youngest man in history to complete the Grand Slam of all four major titles, breaking a record set by American Don Budge in 1938.

The remarkable young Spaniard simply had too much for Djokovic in the end, with the 38-year-old starting superbly but falling to a 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 defeat.

Career Slam: Completed it ✅@AustralianOpen @rolandgarros @Wimbledon @usopen pic.twitter.com/9nJgkCuzXS

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 1, 2026

It is the first time in 11 finals at Melbourne Park that Djokovic has not come out the victor, but, having beaten one of the two new kings of men’s tennis, Jannik Sinner, in an extraordinary semi-final, the other one was a step too far.

Djokovic’s achievement in just reaching the final deserves all the plaudits, though, and his insistence that a 25th major is not out of reach appears a lot more realistic – if he can somehow find a way past Alcaraz.

The man from Murcia, who has moved seamlessly past his shock split from coach Juan Carlos Ferrero in December, is operating at a speed unmatched in men’s tennis.

Djokovic was 29 when he finally claimed the last piece of his grand slam puzzle at the French Open in 2016, while Rafael Nadal was 24 and Roger Federer 27.

Alcaraz is also five years younger than Djokovic was when he reached seven grand slam titles, with only Bjorn Borg anywhere the same figures.

Djokovic had played at a sensational level for four hours against Sinner and he started the same here, timing the ball beautifully and completely outplaying Alcaraz in the opening set.

But the momentum switched on the luckiest of net cords