Rafael Nadal returned to Melbourne not as a competitor this time, but as a supporter -- backing fellow Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz ahead of the Australian Open final.
Factbox on Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Serbian fourth seed Novak Djokovic to win his first Australian Open title on Sunday, increasing his overall Grand Slam tally to seven.
Carlos Alcaraz praised Novak Djokovic as an inspiration and gave a shout-out to compatriot Rafa Nadal after downing the Serbian great in four sets on Sunday to claim his first Australian Open title.
Jannik Sinner admits the Australian Open semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic hurt, but says he was not surprised by the 10-time champion's level after a gripping five-set battle.
Vintage Djokovic dethrones Sinner to set up Alcaraz final at Australian Open
Carlos Alcaraz played dream-wrecker to Novak Djokovic again as he floored the record-chasing Serb 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 for a first Australian Open title and became the youngest man to win all four majors.
Novak Djokovic, the 10-times Australian Open champion, will continue his quest for a record-extending Melbourne Park title and a 25th Grand Slam crown to surpass the record he currently shares with Margaret Court.
Novak Djokovic went down fighting 2-6, 6-2, 6-3, 7-5 to Alcaraz, who bagged his first Melbourne Park title and became the youngest man to win all four majors.
Novak Djokovic slides, stretches and dominates to reach the Australian Open third round and move within one win of 400 Grand Slam victories.
Novak Djokovic said he had always believed he could still play at the top level of tennis and rounded on those who had tried to usher him into retirement after beating Jannik Sinner in the semifinals of the Australian Open on Friday.
Novak Djokovic's quest for a record Grand Slam title continued in dramatic circumstances after fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti quit their Australian Open quarter-final match with an injury after taking a two-set lead at Melbourne Park on Wednesday.
The match against Rafa in Australia for the title 14 years back was a massive chapter in their legacies as they gave their all in a five-set masterclass that lasted almost six hours, with Djokovic edging out Nadal.
Novak Djokovic doused Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(4) at the Australian Open to reach the fourth round and add another line in the record book during his bid for a standalone 25th Grand Slam title.
Fresh off Australian Open glory, Carlos Alcaraz plans a kangaroo tattoo after becoming the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz clash in the Australian Open final with history on the line as Djokovic chases a record 25th Slam and Alcaraz eyes a career Grand Slam.
The flawless performance means Djokovic has reached a century of match wins in three of the four Grand Slams, with 95 at the U.S. Open.
The opening Grand Slam of the year begins at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
A distraught Lorenzo Musetti was struggling to comprehend how injury robbed him of victory against Novak Djokovic and a place in the Australian Open semi-final on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from next week's Australian Open warm-up tournament in Adelaide to focus on being ready for the year's first Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.
Novak Djokovic, who is eyeing a record 25th Grand Slam title, looks likely to need to beat either Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz or both at the business end of the Australian Open.
Djokovic brought up set point with an acrobatic backhand and secured the set with an unreturned shot from the same flank to close in on his 399th Grand Slam match victory, and his 101st in Melbourne, leaving him one shy of recordholder Roger Federer.
Novak Djokovic took encouragement from his run to the Australian Open final and pledged to keep fighting at the Grand Slams after Carlos Alcaraz again denied his bid for a record 25th major title.
Lorenzo Musetti brushed aside Taylor Fritz in straight sets to reach his first Australian Open quarter-final, setting up a blockbuster last-eight clash with Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park.
Defending champion Jannik Sinner scorched American eighth seed Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 and moved into the Australian Open semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic said he would step away completely from the Professional Tennis Players Association, citing concerns over transparency and governance within the organisation.
In five and a half hours of scintillating tennis, the third longest match ever at the Australian Open, Alcaraz won the controversy-riddled encounter.
Nick Kyrgios will only feature in the doubles at the Australian Open, which begins at Melbourne Park on January 18.
Alcaraz swats aside Walton as career Grand Slam bid begins in Melbourne
A defiant Novak Djokovic is adamant he can still beat any player on his day but at 38 the Serb is no longer focusing on the Grand Slam record, saying he does not need the pressure it brings.
Tough road for defending champion Keys
Sebastian Ofner may never forget the rules of the sport again after his premature victory celebration turned into a nightmare collapse against Nishesh Basavareddy in the Australian Open qualifiers on Wednesday.
World number eight Mirra Andreeva warmed up for the Australian Open with a comfortable 6-3, 6-1 victory over fellow teenager Victoria Mboko in the Adelaide International final on Saturday to claim her fourth WTA Tour title.
Carlos Alcaraz powered into his third successive Australian Open quarter-final, beating Tommy Paul in straight sets in a match interrupted by a medical emergency.
Carlos Alcaraz says winning all four Grand Slams at 22 has only fuelled his hunger, but the world No. 1 insists he won't chase a calendar Slam, choosing instead to take the majors one at a time.
American 18-year-old Iva Jovic pulled off the biggest upset of her young career when she stunned Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini.
Stanislas Wawrinka will hang up his racquet at the end of 2026, the three-times Grand Slam champion announced on Friday, bringing down the curtain on a 24-year professional career that saw him gatecrash tennis's elite during the sport's golden era.
The unanswerable question, of course, is whether Djokovic is the GOAT. That's a complex issue over which fans will forever bicker, observes Kanika Datta.
'The only reason I come back is because of the love you (fans) give me'
Carlos Alcaraz battled a leg issue and survived a five-hour, 27-minute thriller against Alexander Zverev to reach his first Australian Open final and keep his career Grand Slam dream alive.
Jannik Sinner returns to the Australian Open targeting a third straight title as the Italian seeks to impose a level of supremacy reminiscent of Novak Djokovic's stranglehold on the year's opening Grand Slam.
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