Novak Djokovic came agonizingly close to winning his 25th Grand Slam title on Sunday, February 1, in the 2026 Australian Open final. The World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz once again bested the Serbian legend, shattering records on the Rod Laver Arena by clinching his first Australian Open title.
In the stands, the two-time Australian Open Champion, Rafael Nadal, was present, watching one of his greatest rivals chase history against a fellow Spaniard. After the match, Djokovic addressed the legendary Spaniard, expressing the ‘strange’ feeling after seeing him in the stands.
Novak Djokovic Reveals ‘Strange’ Feeling After Seeing Rafael Nadal in Stands During the Australian Open Final
Alcaraz defeated Djokovic 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to become a seven-time Grand Slam Champion, equalling the Swedish legend Björn Borg in terms of major titles. He struggled in the opening set, getting broken twice, but showed impressive form in the next three games. As the match went on, Djokovic struggled physically, whereas Alcaraz was as fresh as he was in the beginning.
Throughout the match, the 24-time Grand Slam Champion showed impressive serving, but Alcaraz had a response to almost every one of Djokovic’s tricks. He showed aggressive gameplay, making the 38-year-old move a lot on the entire court, wearing off his physical condition. Djokovic kept fighting till the last point, but it was just not enough to keep the Spaniard down.
During the post-match trophy presentation ceremony, Djokovic came to collect his runner-up trophy, with the entire Rod Laver Arena bowing down to the 10-time Australian Open Champion. After congratulating Alcaraz and his own team, the Serb shifted his focus to Nadal, who was seated right in front of him. Addressing the Legendary Spaniard, Djokovic said:
“I want to speak to the legendary Rafa, who is in the stands. Obviously, it feels very weird to see you there and not here. But I just want to say it, it’s been an honour to share the court with you and to have you watching the finals here. It’s a first time for me and, obviously, a bit of a strange feeling, but thank you for being present.”
Adding humor to the moment, Djokovic joked, “Too many Spanish legends. It felt like I was against 2 against 1 tonight. It wasn’t fair, but okay.”
Novak Djokovic to Rafa Nadal after losing to Alcaraz in the Australian Open final
“I wanna speak to the legendary Rafa who’s in the stands. It feels very weird to see you there and not here”
😂😂😂
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 1, 2026
Interestingly, this was the first Australian Open final that the Serbian legend lost. Before this, he had been in 10 championship matches in Melbourne and had won each of them, with the last one being in 2023, where he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas. This also marked his first Grand Slam final appearance since the 2024 Wimbledon, where Alcaraz had bested him.
Alcaraz’s Historic Performance at Melbourne Park Against Djokovic
The Serbian legend controlled the opening 34 minutes, breaking Alcaraz twice to take the first set 6-2 and gain a lead in the match. He landed 78% of his first serves, winning 93% of those points while hitting an ace, without committing a single double fault. However, from then on, it was Alcaraz everywhere, breaking Djokovic twice in the second set to take it 6-2.
In the third set, which lasted over 50 minutes, Alcaraz showed impressive serving abilities; though he landed only 55% of his first serves, he won 83% of those points while committing just 5 unforced errors.
The decisive set was extremely tense as it saw both players hold their serve till the last game of the set, where Alcaraz broke Djokovic to complete his Career Grand Slam.
He became the youngest men’s player to achieve this accomplishment at the age of just 22 years and 258 days, surpassing Don Budge, who had done it in 1938 at the age of 22 years and 355 days.
Alcaraz also became the sixth player in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams at least once, with the others being Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and his opponent, Djokovic.
