2026 Australian Open, men's singles final: Match preview and stats
What's the story
Men's singles world number one Carlos Alcaraz will be wanting to complete a career Grand Slam title by winning the 2026 Australian Open. He will be up against Novak Djokovic, who is aiming to make history. 3rd seed Djokovic is chasing an elusive 25th career Grand Slam title. Notably, the 2026 Australian Open men's singles final will start at 2:00pm IST on Sunday.
Semis
What happened in their respective semi-final clashes at AO 2026?
Djokovic defeated world number two and number two seed Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller. Djokovic lost the first set 3-6 before coming back to win 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and 6-4 at the Rod Laver Arena. Before that, Alcaraz played the longest semi-final match in AO history (five hours, 27 minutes). He overcame Alexander Zverev, winning 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5.
Djokovic
Djokovic will play in his 38th Grand Slam final
Djokovic will play in his 38th final at Grand Slams. He is a 24-time Grand Slam winner and has ended runner-up 13 times. The Serb has reached his 11th final at the Australian Open. He owns a 10-0 win-loss record at AO finals, having last won the title in 2023. Djokovic owns a 104-10 win-loss record at AO. Overall, he is 402-55 at Slams.
Alcaraz
8th Grand Slam final for Spain's Alcaraz
Six-time men's singles Grand Slam winner, Alcaraz, will play in his maiden Australian Open final. Alcaraz owns a 17-4 win-loss record at the Australian Open. Overall at Grand Slams, he holds a 90-13 win-loss record. Alcaraz also reached his 8th Grand Slam final. He holds a 6-1 win-loss record at Slam finals.
Records
Youngest and oldest record made by the two: Check out
As per Opta, on Friday, Alcaraz (22 years 258 days) became the youngest player in the Open Era to reach the men's singles final at all four Grand Slams. He surpassed Jim Courier (23y 308d). At 38y 241d, Djokovic also became the oldest men's singles finalist at AO in the Open Era, surpassing the previous record held by Ken Rosewall in 1972.
H2H
What is their H2H record on the ATP Tour?
Djokovic leads Alcaraz 5-4 in the pair's H2H record on the ATP Tour. Five of their nine meetings have come at Grand Slams. Alcaraz is 3-2 over Djokovic at Grand Slams. Alcaraz and Djokovic's last meeting came in the 2025 US Open semis, where Alcaraz won 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-2. At Slam finals, the pair has met twice (both Wimbledon) with Alcaraz winning both matches.
Do you know?
Djokovic can break Rafael Nadal's record
As per Opta, Djokovic can become the player with the most top-10 wins at a single Grand Slam event since the ATP Rankings were published in 1973. He can surpass the legendary Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros. Djokovic and Nadal are currently tied (20 wins).