Carlos Alcaraz Wins Maiden Australian Open Title

 

Carlos Alcaraz has ended his Melbourne title drought by winning his maiden Australian Open title after outlasting Novak Djokovic by 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 in a fiercely contested final. 

Reaching the final was a maiden appearance for Alcaraz, who became the youngest player to participate in all four Grand Slam events - the Australian Open. Wimbledon, the US Open, and the French Open. In the last edition, he was eliminated in the quarter-final by Djokovic, who was later beaten by Jannik Sinner in the final. 

Djokovic was contending for his record-setting 25th Grand Slam title. He had an encouraging start, claiming the opening set before Alcaraz stood up to the challenge. The top seed did not find it easy. In the end, he held off going the distance in the fourth set as Djokovic hit a backhand wide for a championship point to Alcaraz. 

"Nobody knows how hard I have been working to get this trophy. I chased this moment so much," said Alcaraz in his post-match interview. " So, I have to say I'm really grateful for everyone I have in my corner right now." 

Compared to Alcaraz, Djokovic double-faulted more and committed unforced errors; he made 31 unforced errors in his first two sets. The Spaniard won his two break points in the first set before conceding five more to Alcaraz in subsequent sets.

Alcaraz has extended his Grand Slam streak to seven. He won his last Grand Slam title at the US Open, his second time winning the title. In the same season, he defeated Jannik Sinner to win his second French Open title.