Tag: Carlos Alcaraz

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McIlroy and Norris honoured at Laureus awards

Rory McIlroy and Lando Norris have both been rewarded for their respective successes in 2025 at the Laureus awards in Madrid.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy won the Comeback of the Year award after winning his first Masters golf title last year.

England’s Formula 1 driver Norris, who won his maiden World Drivers’ Championship, took the Breakthrough of the Year award.

McIlroy, who won the Masters again earlier this month, beat Justin Rose in a sudden-death play-off to earn the Green Jacket 12 months ago.

The 36-year-old – a former winner of the Breakthrough of the Year award – became just the sixth man in history to win all four Majors following his 2025 Augusta triumph.

“There are certain moments in your career that stay with you, and winning the Masters is one I’ll carry with me forever. To then have a year like that recognised by Laureus is very special,” McIlroy said.

“Completing the career Grand Slam was incredibly emotional. It’s something I’ve been chasing for a long time, and it probably means more because of everything that came before it – the near misses, the setbacks, and the questions along the way.”

Norris held his nerve in a tense battle with McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and four-time champion Max Verstappen to win the 2025 championship.

The 26-year-old held off some strong competition to scoop the award, with fellow Britain Luke Littler, the darts world champion, among the nominees.

“Winning the world championship is something I dreamed about since I was young, so to win my first in 2025 is pretty special,” Norris said.

“It’s far from being an individual achievement. Without my team, who were also nominated for a Laureus Team of the Year award, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

Carlos Alcaraz was named Sportsman of the Year, with fellow tennis player Aryna Sabalenka earning the sportswoman award.

Alcaraz, 22, won eight ATP Tour titles, including two Grand Slam events, and ended 2025 ranked as the world number one as he beat rival Jannik Sinner to the award.

Sabalenka, 27, added a second US Open crown to her collection as she collected four WTA titles last year.

England’s women were in the running for Team of the Year after winning Euro 2025 but the award went to men’s Champions League winners Paris St-Germain.

British cyclist Tom Pidcock missed out on the Action Sportsperson of the Year award, with American snowboarder Chloe Kim taking the honour.

Full list of Laureus award winners:

Sportsman of the Year award: Carlos Alcaraz

Sportswoman of the Year award: Aryna Sabalenka

Team of the Year award: Paris St-Germain

Breakthrough of the Year award: Lando Norris

Comeback of the Year award: Rory McIlroy

Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award: Gabriel Araujo

Action Sportsperson of the Year award: Chloe Kim

Young Sportsperson of the Year award: Lamine Yamal

Sporting Inspiration award: Toni Kroos

Lifetime Achievement award: Nadia Comaneci

Sport for Good award: Fútbol Más (Source:BBC)

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Reigning two-time champ Carlos Alcaraz out of French Open due to wrist injury

Carlos Alcaraz won’t play for a third successive French Open title due to a right wrist injury.

Alcaraz posted on X on Friday that neither would he appear in the preceding Italian Open in Rome, where he also won last year.

No. 2-ranked Alcaraz was injured at the Barcelona Open this month during his first-round win and withdrew the day after.

He pulled out of this week’s Madrid Open and attended the Laureus World Sports Awards in the Spanish capital on Monday with his wrist immobilized. Alcaraz was named world sportsman of the year at the gala.

Alcaraz confirmed he was a no-go for Paris after undergoing more medical tests on Friday.

“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing is to be cautious and not participate in Rome and Roland Garros,” he wrote on X. “It’s a complicated moment for me, but I’m sure we’ll come out stronger from here.”

Alcaraz started the year in sensational form, beating Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final. That made him the youngest man ever to win all four major titles in tennis.

He has won only one title since — at Doha in February — and will be without a title in the major clay-court events. He lost the Monte Carlo final to Jannik Sinner at the start of this month and surrendered the No. 1 ranking to his Italian rival.

Last year, Alcaraz beat Sinner in the finals of the Italian Open and French Open, where he saved three match points in an epic match. Alcaraz then lost the Wimbledon final to Sinner before beating him again in the U.S. Open final.

The Italian Open starts on May 5. The French Open does so on May 18. (JapanToday)

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Sinner beats Alcaraz to win Monte Carlo Masters

Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the first time on Sunday and reclaim the world number one ranking from his Spanish rival.

Sinner downed Alcaraz 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to capture his third ATP 1000 title of the year after completing the “Sunshine Double” last month with victories in Indian Wells and Miami.

The 24-year-old Sinner joins Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as only the third player to win four successive ATP 1000 titles. He also triumphed in Paris at the end of last season.

“We came here trying to get as many matches as possible, getting good feedback before other big tournaments coming up. Today was a high level from both of us,” Sinner said. “It was a bit windy, a bit breezy. Different conditions from what the tournament has brought. The result is amazing.

“Getting back to No. 1 means a lot for me… I am very happy to win a big title on this surface, I haven’t done it before.”

It was the first meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz since the Italian prevailed at the ATP Finals in November. Sinner, who is now 7-10 in his career against Alcaraz, will return to the top of the rankings on Monday.

He has won his last 17 matches and becomes the first man since Djokovic in 2015 to win the first three ATP 1000 titles of the season.

“It is impressive what you are achieving right now,” Alcaraz said to Sinner during the trophy ceremony. “Just one man had won the ‘Sunshine Double’ and Monte Carlo and you are the second.”

Alcaraz had won his past 17 matches on clay, dating back to last season when he lifted titles in Rome and at Roland Garros.

He admitted Sinner performed better when it mattered most on Sunday.

“I would say that the important moments, the important points, I didn’t play well. I think I had so much opportunities in the match that I didn’t take,” said Alcaraz.

Alcaraz jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Sinner pushed a forehand long in blustery conditions, but the Italian broke back in the following game as he gradually found his rhythm.

The Spaniard fought off a break point in the fifth game and three more at 4-4, but Sinner’s greater consistency paid off in the tie-break, which he secured when Alcaraz hit a double fault down set point.

Alcaraz won a sensational rally to break Sinner’s serve early in the second set, but the second seed continued to pile pressure on his opponent and rallied from 3-1 down, taking the last five games to clinch the biggest clay-court title of his career.

“It was an incredible week,” said Sinner, pleased with the smooth transition he made from hard courts.

“I am surprised in a very good way. I guess I still need a little bit of time to realise what happened.”

Sinner has hinted he might skip the Madrid Open, where he has no points to defend after missing last year’s tournament while serving a three-month doping ban, to focus on his main goal of winning the French Open.

He held three championship points in an epic 2025 Roland Garros final but was unable to convert as Alcaraz mounted a miraculous comeback – though Sinner looks primed for another title challenge.

“I think he’s reaching a level on clay that is going to be really dangerous for everybody,” said Alcaraz.

Alcaraz will head to Barcelona next week and intends to play a full clay season, health permitting, after injury forced him out of Madrid 12 months ago.

“I hear my body much better than last year, for sure,” said Alcaraz. “If my body stays healthy, I’m going to do whatever it takes to be healthy and take care of my body. If I don’t have any problems, I will play everything on clay.” (JapanToday)

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Sinner overpowers Lehecka to win Miami Open

World number two Jannik Sinner powered past Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-4 to win the ATP Miami Masters 1000 for a second time on Sunday, adding the title to his Indian Wells crown.

Sinner had to wait out rain delays before and during the match to complete his “Sunshine Double,” becoming the first man to sweep the elite hard court tournaments in California and Florida since Roger Federer in 2017 and the first to do so without dropping a set.

In fact, Sinner — who won Miami in 2024 but missed last year as he served a three-month doping ban — has now won three straight Masters 1000 events, starting with a victory in Paris last year.

“It means a lot to me, (completing) the Sunshine Double for the first time, it’s incredible,” Sinner said on court. “It’s something I never would’ve thought (I’d win) because it’s difficult to achieve. We made it somehow, so I’m very happy.”

Sinner’s victory, coupled with Aryna Sabalenka’s triumph over Coco Gauff on Saturday, mark the first time the Indian Wells-Miami sweep was achieved on both the men’s and women’s sides since Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka both did it in 2016.

It also saw the Italian gain a bit on Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in the race for world number one as the clay court season beckons.

Early showers saw the match delayed for more than an hour. Sinner had just pocketed the first set when the showers hit again, halting the match for 90 minutes.

It wasn’t enough to unsettle Sinner, who fired 10 aces and won 33 of 36 points when he put his first serve in play.

His return game was also spot on as he handed 22nd-ranked Czech Lehecka his first service break of the tournament for a 2-1 lead in the opening frame.

Sinner trailed 0-40 in the following game but fired three service winners and a pair of aces to hold and made the advantage stand up.

The Italian gave himself a first set point in the ninth game with a blistering cross-court forehand service return winner.

Lehecka saved that one with a service winner and saved another set point with a volley, going on to seal the hold on his sixth game point before Sinner pocketed the set with a love game.

Lehecka fought off five set points before Sinner pounced for the lone break of the second set and a 5-4 lead.

Sinner didn’t face a break point in the second set and gave himself a match point with a forehand volley winner, thought he had it on a serve that was called a let, and polished it off with another winner at the net.

While Lehecka, playing in his first Masters 1000 final, couldn’t follow compatriot Jakub Mensik into the Miami winner’s circle, he will reach a career-high 14th in the world rankings on Monday.

“I came here with not good form and I was able to come back to the tennis that I want to play,” Lehecka said at the trophy ceremony. (JapanToday)

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World No.1 Alcaraz beaten by Korda in Miami Open third round

Sebastian Korda stared down Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday, sending the world number one crashing out of the Miami Open third round 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

Korda, ranked 36th in the world, notched his first victory over a world number one, sending Alcaraz to his second straight early exit in Miami following defeat to 55th-ranked Belgian David Goffin in the second round last year.

Since that defeat, Alcaraz had built a remarkable 73-6 record, including a 16-0 start to 2026 that included his historic Australian Open triumph and a title in Doha.

It looked like Korda had missed his chance to spring the upset when he served for the match at 5-4 in the second set and was broken at love.

Alcaraz won the next two games to force a third set.

The Spaniard stepped up his intensity to win five straight games. But Korda didn’t buckle and it was the American who seized a break for 4-3 in the third when Alcaraz sailed a forehand wide.

He held his next service game with confidence, slamming down an overhead winner on game point and after Alcaraz held serve to force Korda to serve for the match again, the American made no mistake, sealing victory on his second match point as Alcaraz sent a service return long.

“It feels great,” said Korda, who has been ranked as high as 15th in the world but has endured two seasons disrupted by injuries. “I took the scenic route, that’s for sure — a little more stress than I would want but happy with how I played, happy with how I stayed with it.

“He’s unbelievable in every aspect of his game, movement, volleys, forehand, backhand, there’s nothing he can’t do,” Korda said of 22-year-old Alcaraz, whose Australian Open title made him the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.

Alcaraz, who fell in the semi-finals at Indian Wells this month, was on the defensive early against Korda, who broke for a 5-3 lead in the first set and pocketed the set with an ace.

He broke Alcaraz again for a 2-1 lead in the second before the Spaniard’s spirited fightback that ultimately came up short.

Korda will face either Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce or 14th-seeded Karen Khachanov for a place in the quarterfinals.

Sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz broke big-serving compatriot Reilly Opelka once in each set to triumph 6-3, 6-4 in just 63 minutes.

Fritz served just four aces to Opelka’s 10, but Fritz won 29 of 31 points behind his first serve and dropped just six points on his serve overall.

Fritz lined up a fourth-round clash with Czech Jiri Lehecka, who beat American Ethan Quinn 6-3, 7-6 (8/6).

Rybakina advances

World number one and defending women’s champion Aryna Sabalenka, coming off her first Indian Wells title last weekend, headlined the night session against 72nd-ranked American Caty McNally.

In early women’s action, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina — seeded third despite moving up to number two in the world this week — moved smoothly into the last 16 with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk.

Rybakina next faces Australian qualifier Talia Gibson, who knocked off another seed with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 18-year-old 18th seed Iva Jovic.

Gibson, coming off an impressive run to the Indian Wells quarterfinals, had ousted former world number one Naomi Osaka in the second round.

Fifth-seeded American Jessica Pegula, runner-up to Sabalenka last year, reached the fourth round with a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 victory over Canadian Leylah Fernandez.

Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, runner-up in Miami in 2018, held off seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, emerging victorious from a see-saw battle that saw the Italian charge back from 0-4 down in the third set, recouping two service breaks to level at 5-5 before Ostapenko put it away.

Ostapenko next faces 45th-ranked American Hailey Baptiste, who upset ninth-seeded Ukrainian veteran Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5. (JapanToday)

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Sinner tops Medvedev to win first Indian Wells title

World number two Jannik Sinner surged home to beat Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/4) on Sunday to capture his first Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner won his first title of 2026, rallying from 0-4 down in the second-set tiebreaker to seal the win against a resurgent Medvedev, winner of the title in Dubai last month who was riding a nine-match ATP winning streak.

That included an upset semi-final triumph over Carlos Alcaraz that ended the top-ranked Spaniard’s 16-match winning streak to start the season.

But Sinner, who didn’t drop a set in the tournament, proved just that bit better in a match where both sets went to the tiebreakers without a break of serve.

“I kept believing and kept pushing,” Sinner said of his closing burst. “I went for my shots a little more. A third set, we would have started even, so I tried my best to close it out and I am very happy. It was an incredible ending.”

Sinner didn’t face a break point in the one-hour 55-minute contest, winning 43 of the 47 points on which he put his first serve in play.

Medvedev saved the only two break points he faced in the seventh game of the opening set, but Sinner’s tiebreaker prowess proved too much.

Medvedev was up 5-4 in the first-set tiebreaker when he let a ball sail by him and it landed in.

He’d go on to save one set point, but Sinner gave himself another with a blistering forehand that the Russian couldn’t handle and pocketed the set with a thundering service winner.

Medvedev looked on track to level the match when he raced to a 4-0 lead in the second-set decider — aided by Sinner’s second double-fault of the match.

But Sinner roared home to join Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer as the only players to win all six of the ATP’s hardcourt Masters 1000 tournaments.

Medvedev, who lost to Alcaraz in the Indian Wells finals in 2023 and 2024, missed his chance to become just the second player to beat both Alcaraz and Sinner in the same tournament.

But the former world number one underscored his return to form after a disappointing 2025 campaign and will return to the top 10 on Monday. (JapanToday)

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Djokovic hints at retirement as time seeps away on history bid

Novak Djokovic leaves the Australian Open still stuck on 24 Grand Slam titles and with fresh doubts about how many more tries he will have at winning an outright-record 25th.

The 38-year-old has consistently dismissed talk of retirement and said he is eyeing the defense of his Olympic gold at the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

But after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in the final on Sunday, the Serb suggested he may not be back in Melbourne.

“God knows what happens tomorrow, let alone in six months or 12 months,” he told the crowd at Rod Laver Arena. “So it has been a great ride. I love you guys.”

Djokovic has won a record 10 Australian Opens and until Sunday had never lost a final there.

But for all his success, Djokovic has not always had an easy relationship with the Melbourne fans.

“I want to just say in the end that you guys, particularly the last couple of matches, gave me something that I have never experienced in Australia,” he said. “That much love, support, positivity. I tried to give you back with good tennis over the years.”

It had the ring of a farewell speech and did not appear to have been just an emotional response to defeat.

He said he had prepared two speeches, one for winning and the other for losing.

Djokovic won his 24th Grand Slam title at the U.S. Open in 2023, drawing him level with the Australian Margaret Court at the top of the all-time list.

But age and injuries, plus the emergence of world number one Alcaraz and number two Jannik Sinner, have left him unable to win another.

Before Sunday, his previous Grand Slam final had been in 2024, when he lost the Wimbledon decider, again to Alcaraz.

Last year he reached the semifinals of all four majors but got no further, with Alcaraz and Sinner sharing the spoils.

He rolled back the years to defeat Sinner — 14 years his junior — in a five-set semifinal marathon in Melbourne.

But after Djokovic won the first set, the 22-year-old Alcaraz took a stranglehold on the final to sweep to victory 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

Underlining where Djokovic is now in the pecking order of men’s tennis, he admitted he had not expected to reach another major final.

If the former world number one was going to win that elusive 25th, he may reflect that he has seen his best remaining chance come and go.

He is the undisputed king of Melbourne Park and Rod Laver Arena is the court where he has had the most success.

The fourth seed enjoyed two big pieces of luck in reaching the semifinals.

Djokovic enjoyed free passage through the fourth round when Jakub Mensik pulled out with injury.

He was then facing defeat at two sets down to Lorenzo Musetti, only for the Italian fifth seed to retire injured.

He rolled back the years to beat Sinner and make the final, but a repeat success so soon after playing five sets was beyond him.

“Overall, for sure it’s been a fantastic tournament,” he said. “I knew that I’d probably have to beat two of them (Alcaraz and Sinner) on the way to the title.

“I beat one, which is great, so it’s a step more further than I have gone in Grand Slams than last year. Very nice, encouraging. But, you know, not enough for me.”

So what next for one of the all-time greats?

For whatever time is left, he won’t give up on that 25th Grand Slam crown, even if the odds are now stacked against him.

“I always believe I can,” Djokovic said about finally eclipsing Court. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t be competing.” (JapanToday)

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Alcaraz beats Djokovic to become youngest man to complete career Grand Slam

Carlos Alcaraz is 22, he’s the youngest man ever to win all four of the major titles in tennis, and he had to achieve what no man previously has done to complete the career Grand Slam in Australia.

The top-ranked Alcaraz dropped the first set of the Australian Open final in 33 minutes Sunday as Novak Djokovic went out hard in pursuit of an unprecedented 25th major title, but the young Spaniard dug deep to win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5.

“Means the world to me,” Alcaraz said. “It is a dream come true for me.”

Djokovic had won all 10 of his previous finals at Melbourne Park and, despite being 38, gave himself every chance of extending that streak to 11 when he needed only two sets to win.

Alcaraz rose to the challenge.

“Tennis can change on just one point. One point, one feeling, one shot can change the whole match completely,” he said. “I played well the first set, but you know, in front of me I had a great and inspired Novak, who was playing great, great shots.”

A couple of unforced errors from Djokovic early in the second set gave Alcaraz the confidence.

He scrambled to retrieve shots that usually would be winners for Djokovic, and he kept up intense pressure on the most decorated player in men’s tennis history. There were extended rallies where each player hit enough brilliant shots to usually win a game.

Djokovic has made an artform of rallying from precarious positions. Despite trailing two sets to one, he went within the width of a ball in the fourth set’s ninth game of turning this final around.

After fending off six break points in the set, he exhorted the crowd when he got to 30-30. The crowd responded with chants of “Nole, Nole, Nole!”

When Djokovic earned a breakpoint chance — his first since the second set — he whipped up his supporters again. But when Djokovic sent a forehand long on the next point, Alcaraz took it as a reprieve.

A short forehand winner, a mis-hit from Alcaraz, clipped the net and landed inside the line to give him game point. Then Djokovic hit another forehand long.

Alcaraz responded with a roar, and sealed victory by taking two of the next three games.

As he was leaving the court, Alcaraz signed the lens of the TV camera with a recognition: “Job finished. 4/4 Complete.”

After paying tribute at the trophy ceremony to Djokovic for being an inspiration, Alcaraz turned to his support team. He parted ways with longtime coach Juan Carlos Ferrero at the end of last season and Samuel Lopez stepped up to head the team.

“Nobody knows how hard I’ve been working to get this trophy. I just chased this moment so much,” Alcaraz said. “The pre-season was a bit of a rollercoaster emotionally.

“You were pushing me every day to do all the right things,” he added. “I’m just really grateful for everyone I have in my corner right now.”

Djokovic joked about this showdown setting up a rivalry over the next 10 years with Alcaraz, but then said it was only right to hand the floor over to the new, 16 years his junior, champion.

“What you’ve been doing, the best word to describe is historic, legendary,” he said. “So congratulations.”

Both players were coming off grueling five-set semifinal wins — Alcaraz held off No. 3 Alexander Zverev on Friday; Djokovic’s win over two-time defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner ended after 1:30 a.m. Saturday — yet showed phenomenal fitness, athleticism and stamina for just over three hours in pursuit of their own historic achievements.

Djokovic won the last of his 24 Grand Slam singles titles at the 2023 U.S. Open, his push for an unprecedented 25th has now been blocked by Alcaraz or Sinner for nine majors.

Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played some epic matches, including the longest match ever at the Australian Open that lasted almost six hours in 2012.

Nadal was in the stands Sunday, and both players addressed the 22-time major winner.

“He’s my idol, my role model,” Alcaraz said. To complete the career Slam “in front of him, it made even more special.”

Djokovic, addressing Nadal directly as the “legendary Rafa,” joked that there were “too many Spanish legends” in Rod Laver.

“It felt like it was two against one tonight,” he said.

At 22 years and 272 days, Alcaraz is the youngest man to complete a set of all four major singles titles. He broke the mark set by Don Budge in the 1938 French championships, when he was 22 years and 363 days.

He’s the ninth man to achieve the career Grand Slam, a list that also includes Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer.

Alcaraz now has seven major titles — his first in Australia along with two each at Wimbledon and the French and U.S. Opens. (JapanToday)

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Alcaraz fends off Zverev in an epic semifinal to reach Australian Open final

Carlos Alcaraz overcame possible cramps and injury to fend off Alexander Zverev in an epic, momentum-swinging five-setter Friday, becoming the youngest man in the Open era to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam events.

At 22, he’s aiming to be the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.

He reached his first Australian Open final the hard way, winning 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in 5 hours, 27 minutes. It was the longest match of the tournament so far, and among the longest ever at the Australian Open.

That’s despite being two points away in the third set from a semifinal victory in a tournament where he hadn’t dropped a set through five rounds.

After a medical timeout for treatment on his upper right leg and massages on the same area at two changeovers, Alcaraz’s footwork wasn’t up to his usual standard for the rest of the match.

He was behind in the fifth set after dropping the first game but kept up the pressure and didn’t break back until Zverev was serving for the match in the 10th.

The top-ranked Alcaraz will next face 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic, who is bidding for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles crown. The marathon afternoon match delayed the start of the night semifinal.

Asked how he was able to recover despite being so close to defeat, Alcaraz just said he kept “believing, believing, all the time.”

“I was struggling in the middle of the third set. You know, physically it was one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played,” he said. “But I’ve been in these situations, I’ve been in these kind of matches before, so I knew what I had to do.

“I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it. I fought until the last ball. Extremely proud (of) myself.”

Alcaraz was leading by two sets and appeared to be in the kind of form that won him the U.S. Open last year and has helped him evenly split the last eight majors with Sinner.

But in the ninth game of the third, he started limping and appeared to be struggling with an upper right leg problem. After holding for 5-4, he took a medical timeout in the changeover. It may have been cramp, but he rubbed the inside of his right thigh and called for the trainer, who also massaged the same area.

Zverev was demonstrably upset, taking it up with a tournament official, when his rival was given the three-minute break for treatment.

Even with his limited footwork, Alcaraz was able to hit winners and get to 6-5 before the trainer returned in the changeover to massage the area again.

When he went back out, the crowd gave him rousing support. Zverev served a double-fault to open the next game, and Alcaraz lobbed and then slapped a forehand winner down the line to get to 0-30. But Zverev won four straight points to force the tiebreaker and then win it.

No. 3 Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, retained his composure despite Alcaraz’s obvious discomfort and the crowd on Rod Laver Arena being firmly behind the Spaniard.

He was in front for the entire fourth set but Alcaraz stayed with him, until Zverev again took charge in the tiebreaker. More than four hours had elapsed when the match went to a fifth set, the first five-setter on the center court in the 2026 tournament.

Alcaraz dropped serve in the opening game of the fifth set but hung with Zverev, getting five breakpoint chances without being able to convert.

The drama lifted in the sixth game when Alcaraz sprinted across court to track down a drop shot and slid at full pace for an angled forehand winner. The crowd went crazy.

Alcaraz finally converted a break when Zverev was serving for the match at 5-4.

He held for 6-5 and then, with Zverev serving to stay in the match, Alcaraz converted his first match point.

“I’m just really happy to have the chance to play my first final here in Melbourne,” Alcaraz said. “It is something that I was pursuing a lot, chasing a lot, having the chance to fight for the title.” (JapanToday)

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Djokovic outguns Sinner to set up Australian Open final with Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic stunned reigning champion Jannik Sinner early Saturday to set up a blockbuster Australian Open final with Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard survived a five-set clash of his own with Alexander Zverev.

The 38-year-old Serbian great turned back the clock to keep alive his bid for a record 25th Grand Slam crown by upsetting the Italian 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a gruelling 4hrs 9mins on Rod Laver Arena.

World number one Alcaraz needed even longer to tame Zverev, spending a titanic 5hrs 27mins on court, overcoming cramping and a fifth-set deficit to win 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-7 (4/7), 7-5.

“I’m lost for words right now, to be honest,” said Djokovic, who dropped to his knees and was emotional when the match ended. “It feels surreal.”

Djokovic had lost his last five encounters with Sinner and thanked him for “allowing me at least one win in the last couple of years”.

“I have tremendous respect for him, he pushed me to the limit,” he added. “The level of intensity, and I guess the quality of tennis, was extremely high, and I knew that was the only way for me to have a chance to win tonight.”

The win propelled Djokovic into a 39th Grand Slam final and made him the oldest man in the Open era to reach the title match in Melbourne, where he has won 10 times.

It will be his first finals appearance since Wimbledon in 2024.

Djokovic has been trying to move past Margaret Court — who was in the stadium watching — and clinch a landmark 25th major since his last one at the U.S. Open in 2023.

It has proved increasingly difficult with the emergence of Sinner and Alcaraz, who have shared every Slam title since then.

Against Zverev, Alcaraz only narrowly avoided crashing out after a huge fright at 4-4 in the third set when he pulled up in pain with what appeared to be cramp.

He was allowed to have treatment at the changeover, leaving Zverev furious and angrily remonstrating with officials.

Medical timeouts are not permitted solely for muscle cramping and Zverev made his feelings clear, swearing at officials.

Alcaraz said afterwards he thought he might have hurt his right abductor and it was the physio who decided to have a timeout.

The top seed played on with his movement hampered and he lost his first set of the tournament.

But after swigging some pickle juice, he clawed back from a break down in the fifth set as the crowd roared their approval.

“I rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won,” said Alcaraz, who is into his eighth major final.

“I just hate giving up,” he said.

“When I was younger there were a lot of matches that I just didn’t want to fight anymore or just gave up. Then I just got mature, and I just hate that feeling after all.”

The 22-year-old Alcaraz has won two French Opens, two U.S. Opens and twice at Wimbledon, but success on the blue Melbourne Park hard courts has eluded him in four previous campaigns.

Should he snap the drought he would be the youngest man in the Open era to win all four majors, surpassing compatriot and legend Rafael Nadal, who was 24 when he did so.

His efforts on Friday made him the youngest to reach the men’s singles final at all four Slams.

In other action, wildcards John Peers and Olivia Gadecki became the first team to retain the Australian Open mixed-doubles title since 1988-89.They outlasted French pair Kristina Mladenovic and Manuel Guinard 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. (JapanToday)