Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Novak Djokovic of Serbia. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man in history to complete a career Grand Slam after capturing the Australian Open 2026 title on Feb. 1, ending Novak Djokovic’s perfect record in Melbourne Park finals. The world no. 1 Spaniard overcame a slow start to defeat the 10-time champion 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

Serbia’s Djokovic, chasing an unprecedented 25th major crown, came out firing and took the opening set, but Alcaraz responded with relentless defense, electric court coverage and sustained pressure against his 38-year-old rival.

The 22-year-old Spaniard’s retrieval skills repeatedly turned Djokovic’s near-certain winners into extended rallies. When the final point was done, Alcaraz dropped his racket, collapsed onto his back and pressed his hands to his head in disbelief before greeting Djokovic at the net.

The Serbian star smiled as he congratulated him showing his sportsmanship despite a surely agonising defeat. Alcaraz then sprinted to celebrate with his coaches and later embraced his father and team in the stands.

Both players had survived draining five-set semifinals, yet produced a physically brutal contest lasting just over three hours. Alcaraz converted five of his 16 break‑point chances, while Djokovic managed two from six.

Djokovic’s path to a record-breaking 25th major has now been halted by Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner in nine consecutive Grand Slams. After beating Sinner in the semifinals, Djokovic was hoping to become the oldest Australian Open champion in the Open era.

At 22 years and 272 days, Alcaraz surpassed Don Budge — who completed his career Slam at 22 years and 363 days at the 1938 French Championships — as the youngest man to win all four major titles.

The Melbourne triumph gives Alcaraz his seventh Grand Slam trophy and his first Australian Open crown, adding to two titles each at Wimbledon, the French Open and the US Open.

Djokovic was the last men’s player to complete a career slam when he won four Grand Slam finals in-a-row from the 2015 Wimbledon title to the 2016 French Open championship.

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Hamad Medjedovic in action.© AFP

Jannik Sinner’s reserved public persona belies a mature and steely 23-year-old who has shown supreme mental strength to put aside a doping scandal and make another Australian Open final. Sinner’s status as Italy’s biggest sporting star and the new dominant force in men’s tennis has only risen over the past fortnight in Melbourne. With Spain’s golden boy and chief rival Carlos Alcaraz long gone he has just one more hurdle to clear, against Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final, to become back-to-back champion.

Only three other men have managed the feat at Melbourne Park since the turn of the century — Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Sinner has positioned himself to join them despite being dogged by controversy after twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March.

Hanging over his head is a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal against his exoneration, the global body asking for Sinner to be banned for up to two years.

A hearing is scheduled at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for April. He has denied knowingly doping.

“There’s been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months now, since April last year,” said his coach Darren Cahill.

“He deals with it as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen deal with pressure. He’s an amazing young man that’s been able to put that to one side.

“He has a clear conscience with what’s going on. That’s the main reason he’s been able to go onto the court and walk tall and have that belief and play with the confidence that he has.”

Born in the northern Italian village of Innichen, a stone’s throw from the Austrian border, a career in professional tennis was not a given for Sinner.

He was a champion skier as a youngster and still enjoys the sport in the off-season.

Sinner was also a keen footballer, playing for a local team as an attacker.

But he decided to commit to tennis and at age 13 moved 600 kilometres (400 miles) away from his family to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera to start his long march to the elite levels of the game.

Wise head

After a steady grind, Sinner made an emphatic statement that he was among the elite by winning his maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne last year.

He hasn’t looked back, winning eight titles in 2024, including the US Open and ATP Finals with a striking aspect his extraordinary air of calm on court.

Quiet and reserved, he keeps his personal life away from the spotlight as much as possible, saying very little about his relationship with fellow tennis player Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

Seen by some as too serious and even icy, the Italian has worked to soften his image in Melbourne, even laughing during some of his interviews, a side of him rarely seen before.

“He’s matured for sure,” said Cahill. “I think there’s many areas of not just what he’s doing on the court but certainly off the court as well.

“All these young kids, they are living a life that is great.

“But you have to have a wise head on your shoulders dealing with the media and the fans and the pressure of playing in front of 15,000 people and living up to expectations.

“You grow up fast. Jannik is one of those.”

Jannik Sinner’s reserved public persona belies a mature and steely 23-year-old who has shown supreme mental strength to put aside a doping scandal and make another Australian Open final. Sinner’s status as Italy’s biggest sporting star and the new dominant force in men’s tennis has only risen over the past fortnight in Melbourne. With Spain’s golden boy and chief rival Carlos Alcaraz long gone he has just one more hurdle to clear, against Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final, to become back-to-back champion.

Only three other men have managed the feat at Melbourne Park since the turn of the century — Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

Sinner has positioned himself to join them despite being dogged by controversy after twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March.

Hanging over his head is a World Anti-Doping Agency appeal against his exoneration, the global body asking for Sinner to be banned for up to two years.

A hearing is scheduled at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) for April. He has denied knowingly doping.

“There’s been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months now, since April last year,” said his coach Darren Cahill.

“He deals with it as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen deal with pressure. He’s an amazing young man that’s been able to put that to one side.

“He has a clear conscience with what’s going on. That’s the main reason he’s been able to go onto the court and walk tall and have that belief and play with the confidence that he has.”

Born in the northern Italian village of Innichen, a stone’s throw from the Austrian border, a career in professional tennis was not a given for Sinner.

He was a champion skier as a youngster and still enjoys the sport in the off-season.

Sinner was also a keen footballer, playing for a local team as an attacker.

But he decided to commit to tennis and at age 13 moved 600 kilometres (400 miles) away from his family to Bordighera on the Italian Riviera to start his long march to the elite levels of the game.

Wise head

After a steady grind, Sinner made an emphatic statement that he was among the elite by winning his maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne last year.

He hasn’t looked back, winning eight titles in 2024, including the US Open and ATP Finals with a striking aspect his extraordinary air of calm on court.

Quiet and reserved, he keeps his personal life away from the spotlight as much as possible, saying very little about his relationship with fellow tennis player Anna Kalinskaya of Russia.

Seen by some as too serious and even icy, the Italian has worked to soften his image in Melbourne, even laughing during some of his interviews, a side of him rarely seen before.

“He’s matured for sure,” said Cahill. “I think there’s many areas of not just what he’s doing on the court but certainly off the court as well.

“All these young kids, they are living a life that is great.

“But you have to have a wise head on your shoulders dealing with the media and the fans and the pressure of playing in front of 15,000 people and living up to expectations.

“You grow up fast. Jannik is one of those.”

Novak Djokovic’s injury retirement from his Australian Open semi-final after a gruelling first set on Friday, and his subsequent comments, have left question marks about how the last chapter of his great career might unfold. The 37-year-old Serbian came to Melbourne, where he won a record 10 titles, looking to break the all-time Grand Slam record of Margaret Court. He is tied with the Australian on 24 majors, as has been the case since he won the 2023 US Open. His bid for history is still on hold after shaking hands with German world number two Alexander Zverev after losing a first set tiebreak, unable to continue with a leg muscle tear.

Some fans booed as Djokovic ambled out Rod Laver Arena.

Asked afterwards if this could be his last year on the blue hard courts of Melbourne Park, the former world number one said: “I don’t know. There is a chance.

“Who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes,” said Djokovic, who will be ranked sixth next week and who has seen rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both retire in recent years.

He added: “I want to keep going, but whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure.”

Djokovic fulfilled a career ambition by clinching Olympic gold last year but he did not win a major, with form, injury and younger rivals all getting in his way.

He pulled out a trump card for Melbourne, where he has had his greatest successes, hiring another former rival in Andy Murray as his coach.

Asked if their partnership would continue, he was non-committal.

“I don’t know. You know, we both were disappointed with what just happened, so we didn’t talk about the future steps,” he said.

“We are so fresh off the court. I’ll definitely have a chat with Andy and thank him for being here with me.

“You know, give him my feedback, which is of course positive, and see how he feels and we make the next step.”

‘I’ll keep going’

Djokovic will first need to get healthy.

He had his thigh heavily strapped in beating world number three Carlos Alcaraz, 16 years his junior, in the quarter-finals on Tuesday in impressive fashion.

He said on Friday that “I don’t know” the extent of the injury, with Doha on February 17-22 looming next on his schedule.

“Whether I’m going to play it or not, it really does depend on how quickly I recover. But I had success with quick recoveries in the past. Let’s see.”

The next Grand Slam of the year, the French Open, is in May-June.

Getting that all-time record will again be on his radar and he has won three Roland Garros titles, the last in 2023.

Djokovic appeared to be growing ominously into the Australian Open before injury struck.

He needed four sets to win his first two matches in Melbourne but then rolled back the years in the next two, and proved that class is permanent when he defeated four-time major champion Alcaraz in four sets.

He acknowledged that injuries were beginning to mount.

He had an operation on his right knee after being forced to withdraw ahead of his Roland Garros quarter-final in June.

He roared back to make the final at Wimbledon, losing to Alcaraz, and clinched gold back in the French capital in August.

The desire evidently burns bright, even if the body is increasingly creaking.

“It’s not like I’m worrying approaching every Grand Slam now whether I’m going to get injured or not, but statistics are against me in a way in the last couple of years,” he said.

“So it is true that, you know, getting injured quite a bit last few years.

“But I’ll keep going. I’ll keep striving to win more Slams.

“And as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this, I’ll be around.”

Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev Australian Open 2025 Live Streaming: World No.7 Novak Djokovic is all set to square off against Alexander Zverev in the highly anticipated men’s single semi-final match of the Australia Open 2025 on Friday. Djokovic rolled back the years to defeat Carlos Alcaraz, aged 21, in four sets in the quarter-finals in Melbourne. But his upper left leg was taped after a medical timeout and he needed painkillers to battle through. The 27-year-old Zverev is into the semi-finals for a second straight year and is laser focused on finally winning a Grand Slam after a decade of trying.

Last year at the same stage he crashed to Daniil Medvedev in five sets after holding a 2-0 lead and is understandably wary of Djokovic, even if he is carrying an injury.

When will the Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match take place?

The Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match will take place on Friday, January 24, 2025.

Where will the Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match be held?

The Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match will be held at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

What time will the Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match start?

The Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match will start at 9:00 AM (IST).

Which TV channels will show the live telecast of the Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match?

The Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match will telecasted live on the Sony Sports network.

Where to follow the live streaming of the Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match?

The Novak Djokovic vs Alexander Zverev, Australian Open men’s singles semifinals match will be live streamed on the SonyLiv and JioTV App and Website.

(All details are as per information provided by the broadcaster)

Novak Djokovic feels as mentally and emotionally motivated as he’s ever been, but the Serbian great admits to be being worried about his creaking body ahead of an Australian Open semi-final with “super dangerous” Alexander Zverev. The irrepressible 37-year-old put to bed any doubts about his ability to add to his 24 Grand Slam titles with a scintillating four-set takedown of Carlos Alcaraz in the Melbourne last eight on Tuesday.

But while the 10-time Australian champion was able to pull out every trick in the book to get past a man 16 years his junior, it took its toll.

He had to leave court for a medical timeout at 4-5 in the first set, returning with his upper left leg taped and on painkillers to battle through.

Asked whether it was a hamstring or groin problem, he did not want to elaborate, but said: “It’s very similar to what I had few years ago, 2023, to be exact.”

Djokovic famously won the 2023 Australian Open while managing an injury in the same area.

“I’ll take it day by day. Now it’s really about recovery,” he added.

“I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But if I manage somehow to be physically good enough, I think mentally, emotionally I’m as motivated as I can be.”

Zverev is into the semi-finals for a second straight year and is laser focused on finally winning a maiden Slam title after a decade of trying.

Last year at the same stage he crashed to Daniil Medvedev in five sets after holding a 2-0 lead and is understandably wary of Djokovic, even if he is carrying an injury.

“I’m going to prepare myself for a tough battle,” he said. “I’m going to prepare myself for a very intense and high-level match.”

Djokovic is equally cautious about the German, who is at a career-high world number two.

“I mean, I’m playing Zverev, who is in a great form, and he is going for his first Grand Slam. He’s been close. I mean, I’ve seen him play. I practised with him as well here,” he said.

“I think he loves the conditions. He’s got big serve. He’s super dangerous opponent on this surface against anyone.”

Grateful to Murray

Djokovic holds an 8-4 record over the 27-year-old and will be looking to new coach Andy Murray, who himself won three of his four meetings with Zverev, to establish a game plan.

The Scot has been a calm and collected presence in Djokovic’s courtside box during the tournament after the former rivals unexpectedly joined forces late last year.

The Serbian, who is into a record 50th Grand Slam semi-final, headed straight over to embrace him after beating Alcaraz.

“I feel more and more connected with Andy every day. We face challenges every single day. People don’t see that obviously,” said Djokovic.

“We try to make the most out of every day and grow together. He’s been as committed to my career and this tournament as he can be.

“So it was kind of a gesture of appreciation, respect for him, and the fact that he’s out there, and he doesn’t need to be. He accepted to work with me.

“He’s giving all his support to me, to the whole team, and trying to make it work.

“This (against Alcaraz) was a huge win for all of us, including Andy and myself, you know, for the relationship. That’s why I went to him, because I just felt very grateful that he’s there.”