In a historic night at Rod Laver Arena, Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man to capture a career Grand Slam by earning the Australian Open 2026 men’s singles championship.
The world No.1 overcame 10-time AO champion Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-2 6-3 7-5 to secure his maiden AO crown and etch his name onto the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for the first time.
By claiming victory in three hours and two minutes, the 22-year-old smashed a record held by Don Budge since Roland Garros 1938 when the American achieved a career Grand Slam days before his 23rd birthday. Alcaraz is also the youngest man in the Open Era to own seven Grand Slam singles titles, bettering Bjorn Borg’s achievement at the age of 23.
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Conquering Djokovic, coincidentally the last player to complete a career Grand Slam at 2016 Roland Garros, makes the Spaniard just the ninth man to complete the career Grand Slam and first to mark the occasion at the AO.
Alcaraz revealed that he’d ridden an emotional rollercoaster ahead of his AO 2026 campaign.
“Nobody knows how hard I’ve been working to get this trophy – I just chased this moment so much,” he said.
The world No.1 paid his respects to Djokovic.
“I enjoy so much watching you play, for me, it’s been an honour sharing the locker, sharing the court,” said Alcaraz.
“Thank you very much for what you’re doing because as I said, this is really inspiring.”
The Serb, cradling the AO finalist’s silverware for the first time, credited his younger rival’s momentous achievement.
“Congratulations Carlos, an amazing tournament … what you’ve been doing is, I think the best word to describe it is historic, legendary,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic held a 5-4 advantage over Alcaraz leading into the 10th instalment of their rivalry which boasts a 16-year age gap, the second-widest in Open Era major men’s singles finals.
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The fourth seed was arguably fresher, reaching his first major final since Wimbledon 2024 by spending four hours less on court than his younger foe as a result of a fourth-round walkover and an injury-forced retirement by fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.