History awaits as Djokovic and Alcaraz meet in Australian Open final

MELBOURNE, Jan 30 : Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz meet in Sunday's Australian Open final with history in the balance, as the Serbian great chases a record 25th Grand Slam title and the Spanish dynamo bids to become the youngest man to win all four majors.

Modern men's tennis has not lacked for champions pushing for the next frontier of greatness but the stakes have rarely been higher in a single match.

With 24 major trophies and a record 10 at Melbourne Park, Djokovic's legacy is already secure.

Few can argue there have been better players to grace the men's game.

And yet Djokovic's record remains bracketed with Australian icon Margaret Court, who also won 24 titles in the women's game, including 13 in the amateur era.

With different eras, opponents and technology, their records are as comparable as apples and oranges - but fourth seed Djokovic has long craved the elusive 25th title to take top spot alone.

Clinching it at Melbourne Park, where he claimed his first major trophy in 2008, would be a fitting coup de grace for a 20-year career at the top.

Having taken Ken Rosewall's record as the oldest man to reach the final by beating defending champion Jannik Sinner, Djokovic can top the Australian again as the oldest to win any Grand Slam title.

SERBIAN FANATICS

No other man has dominated Melbourne like Djokovic, who has hoisted the trophy four times more than the next-best duo of Roy Emerson and Roger Federer.

The success has spoilt the city's strong Serbian community who reliably turn up in droves and bring football-like fanaticism to centre court and its surrounds.

Djokovic's dominance has not meant universal adulation from all at Melbourne Park in a country which, incredibly, once detained and deported him for not being