February 1st, Rod Laver Arena. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will take centre stage in not just the tennis world but the sporting world. Alcaraz will be chasing his first Australian Open title and therefore the title of becoming the youngest tennis player ever to achieve the Career Grand Slam, at just 22. Meanwhile, Djokovic will enter the court with the chance to win a record 25th Grand Slam. The Serbian superstar already holds the most Grand Slams ever amongst male players, but a Grand Slam victory over his Spanish rival on Sunday would take him one clear of the great Margaret Court, to make him the only player ever to win 25 Grand Slam Singles Titles. For both players on Sunday, they have a chance to define their legacies, but for very different reasons.
What is at stake for Carlos Alcaraz?
Carlos Alcaraz has had arguably the best start to a career in tennis history. With a win on Sunday, it won’t be an argument anymore. Victory in Melbourne would not only make it seven Grand Slams for the 22-year-old, but it would also make him the youngest ever player to win all four Grand Slam titles, and he has already won the other three slams twice. The current youngest Career Grand Slam winner is Don Budge, who sealed it at the 1938 French Open, when he was 22 years and 363 days old.
At 22 years and 272 days old, Alcaraz would not only become the youngest ever player to achieve the feat but would break a record that has stood for 87 years. Alcaraz has already asserted himself as a great of the game but this victory would take him to another level in the tennis world. If the Spaniard does win on Sunday, it is hard to picture anyone breaking his newly set record any time soon. In addition to that, a win would give him a huge platform to work from on his quest to become the greatest tennis player of all time. Even if he does win on Sunday, there is a long way to go to achieve that, however, when it is all said and done in Alcaraz’s career, if he is in and around the debate for the greatest ever, breaking such a significant record that has stood for so long will be a massive tick next to his name.
Of course, this is Alcaraz’s final chance at breaking Budge’s record given that the next time he plays at the Australian Open, he will be 23. While it certainly wouldn’t be an asterisk next to his name if he doesn’t accomplish the Career Grand Slam this year, a loss would make what is already a long road to being considered the greatest ever, considerably more difficult. To reach that status, he likely has to at least tie Djokovic’s Grand Slam titles. A win on Sunday would close the gap to 17 between the two, as it would be Alcaraz’s seventh to Djokovic’s 24th. However, Alcaraz’s opponent is of course the man he is chasing. A win for the Serbian and suddenly Alcaraz is facing the task of winning 19 more Grand Slams to catch the record. While right now it seems as if Jannik Sinner may be his only significant rival once Djokovic retires, there will inevitably be another player that comes through the ranks to match the current top two players in the world, and take some Grand Slams from them, like Nadal, Federer and Djokovic did to each other. Not only that, but a loss to a 38-year-old Djokovic would be tough to overcome for Alcaraz and his fans if one day there is a debate over which of these two players stands tallest in the tennis world. Given the Spaniard was already defeated by a 37-year-old version of Djokovic in the Olympic final, it would be hard for anyone to eventually list him as the greatest ever unless he surpasses the Serbian in Grand Slams. Even then, an Olympic Gold Medal victory and a Grand Slam final victory for an ageing Djokovic over an early 20s Alcaraz will always be tough to argue against.
What is at stake for Novak Djokovic?
Most of the tennis world would already agree that Novak Djokovic is the greatest player of all time. A win on Sunday, however, would put an end to any sort of debate. While Alcaraz certainly needs a lot more time to enter into the sphere of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer, the Spaniard’s current level of play is as high as we’ve ever seen. If 38-year-old Djokovic was able to defeat someone playing at as high a level as Alcaraz is, and to win a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam by doing it, putting any other player into the greatest of all time conversation would be laughable, at least for now.
We have already established how much room a win would give Djokovic over Alcaraz in a potential debate between the two in about 15-20 years, but a win on Sunday would do even more than that for the Serbian. A win over a 22-year-old world number one, who is looking to become the youngest ever Career Grand Slam winner, would be the magnum opus of Djokovic’s career. Of course he has massive victories already, such as Wimbledon 2019 over Federer, or his epic win over Nadal at the 2012 Australian Open. However, Djokovic has never defeated Alcaraz in a Grand Slam final. He does have victories over the 22-year-old in late stages at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the Australian Open, with the latter coming just last year. However, in the two Grand Slam finals where the two have faced off, both at Wimbledon, Alcaraz has come out on top each time.
While Djokovic’s Gold Medal victory over Alcaraz at the 2024 Olympics is self-described as the ‘pinnacle of his career’, a win against the same opponent in a Grand Slam final at this stage in his career would surpass the Gold Medal in terms of how impressive a feat it is. If the Serbian does come out on top at Rod Laver Arena, it wouldn’t only be the most impressive victory of his career, it would go further than tennis. At 38, Djokovic would have defeated the two best payers in the world, both at their physical peaks, back to back in a matter of days, in a five set format, and he would have done it to win a record 25th Grand Slam Singles Title. Winning the 2026 Australian Open over Alcaraz would be one of the most impressive sporting achievements we have ever seen. It would be in same category as Tiger Woods’ 2019 Masters victory, Tom Brady’s Super Bowl MVP at 43, Lionel Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or at 36, and any other great sporting feat one could name. If Djokovic wins on Sunday, he will surpass the debates about the greatest tennis player ever, and move into the debates of the greatest athlete ever.