{"id":450202,"date":"2026-01-31T20:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T20:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/450202\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T20:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T20:15:08","slug":"history-on-the-line-in-australian-open-mens-final-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/450202\/","title":{"rendered":"History on the line in Australian Open men\u2019s final 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is something Alcaraz has in common with his great Italian rival Jannik Sinner<\/a>, who once famously told reporters he likes to \u201cdance in the pressure storm\u201d. These kids are different.<\/p>\n

Everyone wants a piece of \u201cKing Carlos\u201d, who Forbes reported in August led all tennis players with extraordinary estimated earnings of $35 million.<\/p>\n

And don\u2019t confuse any of this with Alcaraz not caring, either.<\/p>\n

He is one win away from becoming the youngest man to complete a career grand slam, which means winning all of his sport\u2019s four biggest titles: the Australian Open, Roland-Garros<\/a>, Wimbledon and the US Open.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz, who turns 23 in May, has pocketed the latter three titles twice each, but had never been beyond the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park before this fortnight.<\/p>\n

He made it clear pre-tournament that he was a man on a mission.<\/p>\n

To put that in perspective, Alcaraz will shatter fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal<\/a>\u2019s record by about 18 months if he beats the grand master, Novak Djokovic, in the Australian Open final on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

History beckons for Alcaraz \u2013 and he wants it.<\/p>\n

The Spaniard did not hesitate when asked after his awe-inspiring five-set victory under cramping duress over Germany\u2019s Alexander Zverev<\/a> on Friday night whether he would prefer this year to win the Australian Open title or each of the other three grand slams again.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI would choose this one,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cI would say I rather win this one than the three, and complete the grand slam and be the youngest ever to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The noise around Alcaraz and what more he could still achieve is not merely hyperbole.<\/p>\n

Bjorn Borg, Nadal and Alcaraz are the only men\u2019s players to win six major championships by age 22. Alcaraz has won two grand slam titles each on hard, grass and clay courts, which only Nadal, Wilander and Djokovic ever accomplished on the men\u2019s side.<\/p>\n

Nadal and Wilander were both 24, while Djokovic managed it at 34. A reminder here that Alcaraz is 22. Not even the legendary Roger Federer, who won at Roland-Garros just once, could do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo complete the career grand slam already would be crazy, so let\u2019s see if he is able to do \u2018crazy\u2019 this week,\u201d Federer said of Alcaraz. \u201cI hope he does because for the game \u2013 that would be an unbelievable, special moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leading tennis commentator and former doubles player Robbie Koenig has his own theory on why Alcaraz can eat pressure for breakfast.<\/p>\n

\"Power<\/p>\n

Power without feeling overwhelmed by pressure: Carlos Alcaraz.Credit: Eddie Jim<\/p>\n

Koenig was preparing to play golf at Royal Wimbledon last year, the day before the men\u2019s singles final between Alcaraz and Sinner. When he arrived, the club pro told him his \u201cmate\u201d \u2013 who he soon found out was Alcaraz \u2013 had teed off about an hour or so earlier to play 18 holes.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone else would be so stressed out and super focused [before a major final], but he knows what works for him, and he\u2019s found that formula at such a young age,\u201d Koenig said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact he can smile in the biggest of moments to defuse a situation and appreciate the quality of your shot is remarkable. He can be almost gobsmacked at the spectacular stuff he does at times, too. I think that personality trait lends itself to longevity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Koenig places Alcaraz alongside stylish Swiss shot-maker Federer as his favourite tennis players to commentate, or \u201cthe gold standard\u201d, as he puts it.<\/p>\n

But while Alcaraz potentially doesn\u2019t feel any, or much, pressure, Koenig certainly does when he calls any of the Spaniard\u2019s matches. The South African wants to live up to the on-court magic.<\/p>\n

The best commentators are not only brilliant at off-the-cuff one-liners that capture a special moment perfectly, they are also prepared. This masthead flicked through about 350 snappy lines in Koenig\u2019s phone, some of them designed specifically for Alcaraz.<\/p>\n

Listen for the one about Alcaraz being so fast he could answer a missed call. But Koenig\u2019s favourite description for the world No.1 is to say he has \u201cnuclear athleticism\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s nothing he can\u2019t do, so for a commentator, that\u2019s the best thing ever \u2013 just that unknown,\u201d Koenig said. \u201cSinner is bringing more of that in his game style, but less so in his personality, and that\u2019s why I think as a commentator it\u2019s such a dream to commentate on Alcaraz\u2019s matches.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know you\u2019re going to see something spectacular, and get his emotional response to go with it. I\u2019m just hoping I don\u2019t f— it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Australian tennis great Paul McNamee rates Alcaraz the best all-round player he has witnessed, labelling him a \u201cvirtuoso\u201d.<\/p>\n

It is a massive call, but Wilander \u2013 who predicts that Alcaraz will reach the same grand slam-winning feats of the \u201cBig Three\u201d \u2013 Djokovic, Nadal and Federer<\/a> \u2013 offers a similar assessment, believing his rare talent comes with no technical flaws, unlike some other tennis icons.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarlos can hit a blinding forehand, then with the same grip, in the next instant, you will get an exquisite drop shot,\u201d McNamee told this masthead.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one has got the adaptability and versatility and control in all aspects of the game [that Alcaraz has]. You have got to understand the magic of what he brings to the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilander even had an on-air conversation at this Australian Open with American tennis legend John McEnroe about whether it was possible that Alcaraz\u2019s wizard-like right hand potentially operated, at times, before his brain actually went into action.<\/p>\n

The Swede thought McEnroe, known for his exceptional touch and feel of the tennis ball, was the perfect person to bounce that concept off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Alcaraz sometimes hits shots where it\u2019s just a reaction because he\u2019s got great hands, whereas for me, I would never have hit a tennis shot without thinking about it,\u201d Wilander said.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe sometimes reacts to the situation \u2013 or at least that\u2019s what it looks like to me. Sometimes, I feel like he hits a drop shot that he didn\u2019t want to hit, which is sometimes when the smile comes, where he makes a fool in front of himself \u2013 not anyone else \u2013 because I don\u2019t think he worries about that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilander also likened Alcaraz to Nick Kyrgios<\/a>, in that fans not only want and expect them to win matches, but also entertain them while doing so. That is a burden in itself that not all players carry.<\/p>\n

That said, there are very few athletes, and even fewer tennis players, on the planet who can relate to Alcaraz. He is a rare species who will become rarer if he conquers Djokovic at his Melbourne Park fortress<\/a> on Sunday night.<\/p>\n

Koenig, a retired doubles specialist who peaked inside the world\u2019s top 30, has watched Alcaraz rally from two sets and match points down to Sinner at Roland-Garros last year, and even wriggle out of near-certain defeat against Zverev two nights ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe clutch factor with this guy is a joke, man,\u201d Koenig said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t believe how much confidence [last year\u2019s Roland-Garros final] must infuse into you. I\u2019d win a 250 event in doubles, and I\u2019d think I was walking on water. The confidence when I arrived the next week was off the charts \u2013 but can you imagine what it must be like for Carlos Alcaraz?\u201d<\/p>\n

The smile says it all.<\/p>\n

Read more on the Australian Open<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It is something Alcaraz has in common with his great Italian rival Jannik Sinner, who once famously told…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":450203,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,85,747],"class_list":{"0":"post-450202","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-sports","11":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450202","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=450202"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/450202\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/450203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=450202"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=450202"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=450202"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}