'It’s Unbelievable': Carlos Alcaraz Hails Novak Djokovic’s Longevity

Not short of historical landmarks in tennis already, Carlos Alcaraz arguably claimed his magnum opus after becoming the youngest man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam, overcoming Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final.

A Final Defined by Momentum Swings

The final itself was a closely fought four-set contest filled with momentum swings, with Alcaraz ultimately prevailing after a tense and closely contested fourth set.

Despite suffering his first-ever Australian Open final defeat, Djokovic produced one of his strongest performances in recent seasons in the last two rounds of the tournament. The Serbian first overcame Jannik Sinner in the semifinals, one of the most impressive victories of his career, before testing the current World No. 1 as thoroughly as he has at the past two majors when fully physically fit.

Alcaraz Praises Djokovic’s Enduring Greatness

In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz acknowledged that what Djokovic continues to achieve is not only historical but deeply inspiring, as he keeps proving his doubters wrong.

The now seven-time major champion said:

“What he’s doing is inspiring for all athletes. He’s putting his body, his mind, his life into playing the final of a Grand Slam again… Going against every person saying he wasn’t going to play another Grand Slam final, or that he wasn’t going to beat Jannik or myself… then he comes and plays such great tennis, beating Jannik in the semifinals. Here in the final he played such great tennis. It’s unbelievable what he’s doing.”

After his semifinal victory, Djokovic admitted that while his primary motivation remains winning the four major titles, the recent noise surrounding calls for his retirement has only fueled him further.

“There’s a lot of people that doubt me, and there’s a lot of experts, all of a sudden, that wanted to retire me, or have retired me many times in the last couple of years… I want to thank them all because they gave me strength, they gave me motivation to prove them wrong, which I have tonight.”

Even after accomplishing virtually everything the sport has to offer, Djokovic continues to reinvent himself on court and deliver performances such as those seen in the final two rounds at this year’s Australian Open. With that momentum to start the season, it will be fascinating to see how the former World No. 1 performs at the remaining three majors this year — even as this era increasingly belongs to Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.