Novak Djokovic v Carlos Alcaraz live: Australian Open latest score updates as history on the line in seismic final

Actually, the roof is only partially open, which should limit the points being overly disrupted by wind.

The Rod Laver Arena is cracking with anticipation. The roars from Djokovic’s fans are already febrile.

Alcaraz wins the toss and elects to receive.

Alcaraz and Djokovic stop for the pre-match photo, before wishing the other good luck. And the roof is open on the Rod Laver Arena, in cold, windy conditions.

The final is being shown live on TNT Sports in the UK as well as online on Discovery+.

In the US, it will be shown live on ESPN and Tennis Channel.

Rafael Nadal takes his seat in the Rod Laver Arena as Carlos Alcaraz lines up behind Novak Djokovic in the tunnel.

Djokovic walks past his name before stepping out onto court, and the list of his 10 Australian Open titles.

Alcaraz is yet to win one, yet there is so much more history on the line for both players today.

Where has the Melbourne heat gone? It’s damp, blustery and looks very, very cold around the grounds outside the Rod Laver Arena.

But the roof, for now, is staying open.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will be starting their walk-outs onto the court very shortly.

Rafael Nadal has picked his favourite for the Australian Open final as he prepares to witness history in the match between compatriot Carlos Alcaraz and long-time rival Novak Djokovic.

Nadal, the two-time Australian Open winner and 22-time grand slam champion, will be court-side at the Rod Laver Arena to witness history on Sunday, returning to the tournament for the first time since his retirement from the sport in 2024.

“Carlos is from my country. I have a good relationship with him. We shared the Olympic Games together. We shared the Spanish team.

“If Novak wins, I will be happy for him because what he’s doing at this stage of his career is quite spectacular. He shows an amazing passion for the game.

“But if I have to support someone, I support Carlos.”

“I never stopped doubting. I never stopped believing in myself. There’s a lot of people that doubt me. I see there is a lot of experts all of a sudden that wanted to retire me or have retired me many times the last couple of years.

‘I want to thank them all, because they gave me strength. They gave me motivation to prove them wrong, which I have tonight. For me, it’s not a surprise, to be honest. I know what I’m capable of.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s recovery made history, with the chance of another significant record to come as he chases a first Australian Open title. At 22, Alcaraz is the youngest man in the Open Era to reach the final at all four grand slam tournaments – ahead of Jim Courier, who achieved the feat in 1993.

Alcaraz also moves one win becoming the youngest man in history to complete the career grand slam – ahead of Don Budge, who achieved the feat in 1938. Rafael Nadal is the youngest player to complete the career grand slam in the Open era, and was 24 when he did so in 2010.

Jim Courier was courtside and interviewed Alcaraz after his latest epic, and pointed out the history he can create on Sunday. “Thank you for putting so much pressure on me right now,” Alcaraz laughed. “Kidding, kidding!

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

After playing for four hours and seven minutes in Friday’s semi-final win against Jannik Sinner, Djokovic said: “I don’t know. Let’s see. You know, it’s almost 3am… Yeah, let’s see. I cannot make any predictions right now. Definitely not going to train tomorrow, just going to use every hour I possibly can to recover. Hopefully get out on the finals day feeling somewhat refreshed.”

Djokovic reportedly did not go to bed until 6am on Saturday morning and did not report to the site yesterday.

This will be the 10th tour-level match between Djokovic and Alcaraz and their sixth over best of five sets. Djokovic currently leads the head to head 5-4, but Alcaraz won their last meeting at the US Open semi-finals, winning in straight-sets.

Before then, Djokovic had won all three times they had met on a hard-court and Alcaraz’s previous two wins over Djokovic had come in the Wimbledon final, in 2023 and 2024. They have met at the Australian Open once before, with Djokovic winning in the quarter-finals last year.

“History is on the line for both of us every time we play. The finals of a grand slam, there’s a lot at stake. But it’s no different from any other big match that I play.

“My preparation is as it should be, and I won against him last year here, also in a gruelling match. Let’s see. Let’s see how fresh are we both able to be. He also had a big match, but he has 15, 16 years on me. I think it’s going to be a bit easier for him to recover.

“I look forward to it. Look, I play tennis competitively mainly to be able to reach the finals of grand slams. Here I am, so I cannot complain about anything.

“I’m just trying to enjoy the moment that I’m experiencing tonight. I’ll think about finals later, but for me, this is win that almost equals winning a grand slam.”