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Alcaraz wins second set vs. Djokovic to level Australian Open final

  • Posted: Feb 01, 2026

Carlos Alcaraz has bounced back after Novak Djokovic’s blistering start to level Sunday’s Australian Open championship match at 2-6, 6-2. The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings shook off a shaky start against the record 10-time champion to move within two sets of completing the Career Grand Slam.

Alcaraz broke Djokovic’s serve twice in the second set to come roaring back into contention in his first Australian Open final. If the 22-year-old Alcaraz can ride that wave and go on to lift the trophy in Melbourne, he will become the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam in the Open Era (winning the singles title at all four majors). The current holder of that record is Alcaraz’s fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who is in the stands inside Rod Laver Arena watching two of his former ATP Tour rivals do battle.

Appearing fresh despite his marathon five-set semi-final victory against 2024 and 2025 champion Jannik Sinner on Friday night, Djokovic had pummelled the ball aggressively from the first game inside Rod Laver Arena. The 38-year-old, who is bidding to lift an all-time record 25th Grand Slam trophy and also become the oldest men’s singles titlist at a major in the Open Era, barely put a foot wrong in a statement opening-set display, but Alcaraz quickly levelled proceedings with a much-improved second-set showing.

Djokovic, who has never lost an Australian Open title match, is bidding to snap Alcaraz and Sinner’s stranglehold on the majors in recent years: the pair has won the past eight Grand Slam titles between them. If he can follow his triumph against the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings Sinner by also overcoming Alcaraz, the Serbian will be just the ninth player to have defeated the top two seeds en route to a major crown.

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Just as he had against Sinner, Djokovic came out determined to dictate play with his forehand in his 11th Australian Open final, and the Serbian carved out the opening three break points of the match in the fourth game. Although Alcaraz held his nerve to fend off the first two, Djokovic prevailed in an extended baseline rally on the third to gain an early advantage.

Alcaraz, who himself contested the longest semi-final in tournament history on Friday against Alexander Zverev, was uncharacteristically flat in the early stages. Djokovic expertly capitalised on his momentum by breaking his opponent’s serve again in the eighth game to clinch a set in which he dropped just two points behind serve, according to Infosys Stats.

Needing to find a way to stop Djokovic’s opening charge, Alcaraz benefitted from a slice of fortune en route to his first break of the match early in the second set. At 1-1, 15/15 on Djokovic’s serve, the Spaniard fired a forehand that clipped the net, looped up and somehow landed spinning into the net on Djokovic’s side of the court. The top seed went onto break his rival for a second time in the seventh game and he soon served out to level the match before letting out a roar.

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Scouting Report: Auger-Aliassime, Wawrinka, Fils in Montpellier field

  • Posted: Feb 01, 2026

The ATP Tour heads to Montpellier this week for indoor ATP 250 action at the Open Occitanie, where Top 10 star and defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime headlines the field.

The draw in southern France also includes Stan Wawrinka, competing in the final year of his career, and Top 30 stars Flavio Cobolli, Tallon Griekspoor and Tomas Machac. Meanwhile home favourite Arthur Fils makes his return to competitive action for the first time since last July.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch this week.

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1) Felix seeks fast response: The No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Auger-Aliassime will aim to bounce back quickly after being forced to retire from his first-round match at the Australian Open due to cramp. The 25-year-old has plenty to be confident about in Montpellier: he is the defending champion there, and he has won seven of his eight ATP Tour crowns indoors. Auger-Aliassime’s opening opponent in France will be Wawrinka or Hamad Medjedovic.

2) Fils returns after six months out: Home fans will welcome back one of France’s top stars in Montpellier, where Arthur Fils will make his return to ATP Tour action after six months out due to a back injury. He takes on countryman Valentin Royer in the first round. The 21-year-old Fils reached the semi-finals on his only previous appearance in Montpellier in 2023, before he fell to eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

3) Wild card Wawrinka: The Swiss began his final year on the ATP Tour with a series of battling performances across the United Cup and the Australian Open, where he reached the third round. The former World No. 3 Wawrinka now heads to Montpellier, where he will compete as a wild card and takes on Serbia’s Medjedovic first up. Hubert Hurkacz, another former Top 10 star who went 4-1 in singles play to help Poland lift the United Cup, starts against a qualifier.

4) Top 30 stars in action: Like Auger-Aliassime, Cobolli will hope to put a first-round exit in Australia behind him quickly under the roof in Montpellier. The Italian is the second seed in France, while Tallon Griekspoor is seeded third. Fourth seed Tomas Machac chases his second ATP 250 crown of the season after he triumphed in Adelaide in mid-January.

5) Home hopes Doumbia/Reboul lead doubles field: Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul lifted the Montpellier trophy together in 2024, and the French duo returns this year as the top seeds. Their rivals in the doubles draw include second seeds Jakob Schnaitter and Mark Wallner, while Wawrinka teams with big-serving home favourite Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

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