“Cabeza, Corazon y Cojones” reads the tattoo engraved on world No 1 and Australian champion Carlos Alcaraz’s left bicep, which means “Head, Heart & Balls” — of the figurative variety.
It is a tribute to his late grandfather and symbolic of how the exuberant Spaniard rallied against the man considered to be the greatest tennis player of all time, Serbian Novak Djokovic, and prevailed 2-6-2 6-3 7-5 to lift his maiden Australian Open title.
The script could not have gone better for the denouement of this tournament, which got off to a relatively slow start. After a dearth of five setters on Rod Laver Arena, fans were treated to two thrilling five-set back-to-back showdowns on men’s semifinal day, with then world No 3 Alexander Zverev facing off against the world No 1 and former No 1 Novak Djokovic confronting world No 2 Jannik Sinner.
This was followed by the ladies’ singles final, in which “Comeback Queen” Elena Rybakina battled from a three-game deficit in the deciding set to blast past two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka and grab the title.
And finally the ultimate showdown between “The Kid Carlitos” and “The King Novak”.
Whichever way the coin fell, history was in the making: While Alcaraz became the youngest man in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam (to win all four Majors), Djokovic, regardless of his defeat, became the oldest man in the Open era to reach the AO final.
What must be added to Djokovic’s list of accolades is that the GOAT is “unequivocally the most gracious ever in defeat” ... The same cannot be said of Sabalenka
Moreover, since turning 35, he has reached more Major finals than everyone (7), including Australian legend Ken Rosewall (6), otherwise known as “Muscles”.
In flexing his own muscles and impressively overcoming defending champion Jannik Sinner in the semis, Djokovic also became the first player to notch a 400-match win milestone at Majors — 30 odd more than Roger Federer and Serena Williams.
The Serbian, for the first time since August 2024, is back in the top 3, sitting at No 3, having unceremoniously pushed aside former world No 3, Zverev, relegated to No 4, post yet another frustrating loss at the hand of Alcaraz.
What must be added to Djokovic’s list of accolades is that the GOAT is “unequivocally the most gracious ever in defeat” — a testament to his maturity, enduring self-belief and deep-rooted conviction that no one in any sport is bigger than the game itself.
The same cannot be said of Sabalenka, whose thinly disguised petulance at losing to Rybakina was on full display in her post-match interview, wherein she dismissed the Kazakhstani’s triumph as “lucky”.
Our golfing great, Gary Player, who enjoyed a big win with his appropriately named champion horse, “Double Grand Slam”, at the Cape Met last weekend, would remind the Belarusian of his famous motto — “the harder you practice, the luckier you get”.
Rybakina has certainly put in the practice hours, after an ensuing slump in the wake of her other Major comeback win at Wimbledon in 2022 — her first — where she toppled Tunisian Ons Jabeur. She has her controversial Croatian coach, Stefanos Vukov, back in her box, after he was briefly banned by the WTA last year for his harsh on-court coaching methods, with which Rybakina had absolutely no issues.
The one weapon Vukov has honed during the interim is her serve, which currently sets Rybakina apart from all her rivals and has catapulted her, like Djokovic, to No 3 in the world. She served 47 aces in this tournament versus Sabalenka’s 27, the latter lying second in the serving stakes.
Defeating both the world No 1 & 2 proved a bridge too far for both the history books and for the man with the Midas touch and yet still with the most Slam singles and Australian Open titles in his back pocket
Bearing in mind Djokovic could attribute his superlative tennis and comprehensive win over Sinner to the fact his first serve was red hot and firing consistently — less so against Alcaraz.
And Rybakina, typically underrated yet oozing natural talent, if not killer instinct, has sent out a loaded message to all and sundry on tour: “It’s a bad sign” — ie her unanticipated triumph at Melbourne Park. What she means is “heed my warning, ladies; I’m back, and I’m here to stay”.
And the main ATP draw has delivered a host of good omens this week, especially for young Americans: Learner Tien has become the youngest American male to reach the quarters of a Major since 2002, jetting him to No 24, an improvement of 5 ranking points.
Ethan Quinn, 21 and on debut, snatched the scalps of higher-ranked Czech and Polish No 1s, Jakub Mensik and Hugo Hurkacz, to advance to the third round and to No 68, 12 points up in those much-scrutinised rankings.
While No 71 Eliot Spizzirri enjoyed a career high and a 14-point leap up the ladder, coming close to unseating Sinner, who was struggling in the searing midday heat. The American took the first set off the Italian, and only after a carefully orchestrated roof closure did the world No 2 regain his momentum and claw back the match.
Thus it should come as less of a surprise that Sinner succumbed to Djokovic in that fatal AO semi, in which the Serb rolled back the years and unleashed his lethal first serve to send the defending champion packing.
However, defeating both the world No 1 & 2 proved a bridge too far for both the history books and for the man with the Midas touch and yet still with the most Slam singles and Australian Open titles in his back pocket.
For the time being that Major title No 24 will have to remain embedded on the back of Djokovic’s shoes, while No 25 remains an elusive pipe dream, unless he can confront the next Major onslaught on clay, armed with a piece of kryptonite.
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