Australian Open 2026 men's singles final: Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic face off in respective pursuits of history - live updates

One man will write history at the Australian Open 2026, but will that be Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic?

The tennis superstars, who have a combined 30 Grand Slam titles, meet in the men's singles final at Rod Laver Arena.

Alcaraz, 22, could become the youngest man ever to complete the career Grand Slam, while Djokovic can win a record 25th Grand Slam trophy to put him outright at the top with the most majors ever.

Follow the action live on Olympics.com!

AO 2026: Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic - head-to-head and how to watch live

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Australian Open 2026 - Alcaraz responds to win second set at Rod Laver Arena

20:56 - Alcaraz 2-6, 6-2 Djokovic - game, set Alcaraz

It is a commanding service game from Alcaraz, who seals the set with a big unreturnable serve. Djokovic is leaving the court during the set changeover: we are all square in Melbourne.

20:52 - Alcaraz 2-6, 5-2 Djokovic

It is a massive double break for Alcaraz who is on the verge of levelling this final up at one set apiece. Can he hold for the fourth time in a row?

20:41- Alcaraz 2-6, 3-1 Djokovic

Djokovic is growing frustrated as he misses a set of forehand shots, including one for a break back. His opponent is certainly settled, a net backhand shot too powerful for the fourth seed as Alcaraz holds.

20:35 - Alcaraz 2-6, 2-1 Djokovic

Here is Alcaraz's first break point, and he crucially takes it to lay his mark on the men's singles final. These conditions are far colder than the last two weeks of the tournament, but this should help the No. 1 seed settle down.

20:30 local time (AEDT, GMT+11) - Alcaraz 2-6, 1-1 Djokovic

Both Alcaraz and Djokovic hold serve to start the second set, after what was a remarkable opening set for the latter. Olympic champion Djokovic won 93 per cent of first set, first serve points with no double faults.

Australian Open 2026 - Djokovic starts strong to win first set

20:19 - Alcaraz 2-6 Djokovic - game, set Djokovic

A rocket forehand winner from Djokovic has set him up with two set points and two break points. Alcaraz's serve is good, but as the ball returns to the top seed, he cannot find the lines and Djokovic takes the opening set!

20:12 - Alcaraz 2-4 Djokovic

That could have been a costly double break against Alcaraz, who found himself 0-30 down before recovering to hold. The roof is half closed in cooler temperatures, currently 15C/59F in Melbourne, Australia.

20:04 - Alcaraz 1-3 Djokovic

Alcaraz faces his first break point after double faulting then missing a shot, and he saves it with his signature dropshot which even Djokovic smiles at. A second break point comes up, once again saved as a monster backhand sets Djokovic off balance.

Break point number three and, after an end-to-end rally, Djokovic finally finds the break early on.

19:50 - Alcaraz 0-1 Djokovic

Djokovic serves first and we are already seeing some huge top spin on both sides, each man forcing the other around the court as much as possible. The Serbian holds on for the opening game.

19:35

Rafael Nadal is in the house for this one - the 22-time Grand Slam champion is also the youngest man to win the career Grand Slam, a record which his countryman Alcaraz is chasing. The players are ready to emerge onto Rod Laver Arena...

19:06

Both men had to come through five sets to get to the championship match in style. Top seed Alcaraz fought past Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5, in a match that lasted just two minutes short of last year's Roland-Garros final.

10-time Australian Open champion Djokovic also went the distance against Jannik Sinner, coming through to win 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

17:45 local time (AEDT, GMT+11)

Hello and welcome to the Olympics.com live blog for the Australian Open men's singles final!

February means that it is Olympic month, with the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 starting on 6 February. For the next few hours though, our focus is 10,123 miles (16,292km) away at Rod Laver Arena for the latest instalment of Alcaraz vs Djokovic.

This will be the 10th meeting between Alcaraz and Djokovic, and it is the Serbian who leads the head-to-head record 5-4. It is also a rematch of the Paris 2024 gold medal match, which Djokovic came through to win his first Olympic gold medal.

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