AO 2026 Final Alcaraz v Djokovic

[El Dude]

I have to agree that overall the men's tour has always been top-heavy; the top 4 or 5, then all the rest! What made them vulnerable in the past was court surface specialists & the difference each event made it's own! Homogenizing the courts just made it easier for the past Big 3 of Fedalovic to dominate like no other trio in tennis history! We have some very good talent below you listed above in Draper, Rune, & Fonseca, adding Menšík, Shelton, then a few others, but they'll probably never dominate; m/b just convert an upset here and there! Alcaraz is still vulnerable to upset, probably b/c he's over-talented & shows out to his detriment, exercising his need to make a highlight reel! How he loses to someone like Cam Norrie I'll never understand, but it still happens to this day! Sinner will have issues w/ his own health; so spindly, you just need to keep him on the court for a while! Conditioning can't make up for him being so wispily thin!

I like the gist of what you say here, but think you ignore a primary factor that made the Big Three so great: their dedication and focus. I think court homogenization--and other factors--helped, but more than anything, they were just so damn tenacious and wouldn't let go (and didn't lose interest).

But my point is that the number at the top fluctuates. What people are remarking on, and even lamenting a bit, is that after Sincaraz (and Novak), it is a huge drop-off. There's no Andy, not even a Wawrinka or Del Potro. Zverev and Medvedev were sort of those guys, as was Thiem for a hot moment. But no real disruptors. And even guys like Ferrer, Tsonga, and Berdych would occasionally take out one of the Big Three in a Slam...can we really imagine Ruud, Fritz, or Musetti doing the same of Sincaraz?

 

[El Dude]

Who is this phantom player, Fonseco? I never see him! We keep talking about him, but I haven't seen him on the court in ages! I literally can't remember the last time I actually saw him playing a match! I don't watch as much as I once did, but he's about as missing as Tommy Haas way back when! I've seen more pics of Marat Safin in the last month or so!

He went out in the R128 at the AO. Didn't play a warm-up. You'll be seeing a lot more of him going forward, but he's still at the stage where he's trying to get to QFs/SFs.

 

[Kieran]

This was a fairly good final, given what was at stake. Kudos to Djoker for getting there. Sure, he had the boon of great fortune in the 3rd and 4th rounds, but that might also have upset his rhythm. I don't think it did, given his age and experience, but to skip matches in a slam isn't always helpful. Regardless, he still had to face his bogeyman, Sinner, and the way he dug out those last two sets was incredible and an example to anyone: he bluntly went for it. He put it up to the kid and the kid couldn't hack it. That was very admirable.

Started that way in the final, and was behaving well in post-match interviews and especially his great on-court speech after the match until he typically soured the cream a little by saying "I was injured in sets 2 and 3 and recovered in the 4th but I'm not going to discuss that - I ONLY want the whole world to know I woulda won otherwise."

STFU.

I think the first three sets were good, if one-sided, Novak continuing as he had finished in the semi, then Carlos sussing him out in the second and third, and torturing him. Carlos mentioned the word "matured" in an interview - he certainly has, compared to their match last year. And his defence was offensive in the way Djoker's could be, at his best. He was restrained and let his opponent overreach and make more mistakes. Very little trademark highlight reel flashiness. Excellence and elasticity from the baseline. Patience. More aggressive on his service games. The fourth set was special and I thought the game where Novak saved 6 bp's was going to be a turning point, and in a way it was: that was the first really close set in the match, and Djokovic really riled up the crowd after the 4-all game, . He even forced a break point, then we saw the definition of "matured". Carlos stayed sane, and romped home.

He's great, and tennis is in good hands. Look at the respect between them, and then Rafa getting a lot of love from both in the box, and the general camaraderie and respect between top players in our sport, while they battle like alleycats for every point, it's a pleasure to see. I never liked the antics of McEnroe and any other so-called bad boys. There's a lot to dislike in Djokovic and his violent on court antics and other stuff off court too - but he's playing the role of benevolent elder really well.

Apart from the malodorous stink-bomb post-match interview...

 

[Vince Evert]

The men's final available now on the official AO channel...

 

[atttomole]

This was a fairly good final, given what was at stake. Kudos to Djoker for getting there. Sure, he had the boon of great fortune in the 3rd and 4th rounds, but that might also have upset his rhythm. I don't think it did, given his age and experience, but to skip matches in a slam isn't always helpful. Regardless, he still had to face his bogeyman, Sinner, and the way he dug out those last two sets was incredible and an example to anyone: he bluntly went for it. He put it up to the kid and the kid couldn't hack it. That was very admirable.

Started that way in the final, and was behaving well in post-match interviews and especially his great on-court speech after the match until he typically soured the cream a little by saying "I was injured in sets 2 and 3 and recovered in the 4th but I'm not going to discuss that - I ONLY want the whole world to know I woulda won otherwise."

STFU.

I think the first three sets were good, if one-sided, Novak continuing as he had finished in the semi, then Carlos sussing him out in the second and third, and torturing him. Carlos mentioned the word "matured" in an interview - he certainly has, compared to their match last year. And his defence was offensive in the way Djoker's could be, at his best. He was restrained and let his opponent overreach and make more mistakes. Very little trademark highlight reel flashiness. Excellence and elasticity from the baseline. Patience. More aggressive on his service games. The fourth set was special and I thought the game where Novak saved 6 bp's was going to be a turning point, and in a way it was: that was the first really close set in the match, and Djokovic really riled up the crowd after the 4-all game, . He even forced a break point, then we saw the definition of "matured". Carlos stayed sane, and romped home.

He's great, and tennis is in good hands. Look at the respect between them, and then Rafa getting a lot of love from both in the box, and the general camaraderie and respect between top players in our sport, while they battle like alleycats for every point, it's a pleasure to see. I never liked the antics of McEnroe and any other so-called bad boys. There's a lot to dislike in Djokovic and his violent on court antics and other stuff off court too - but he's playing the role of benevolent elder really well.

Apart from the malodorous stink-bomb post-match interview...

Come on!! Still obsessed with Djokovic. You are the only one!! Grow up.

 

[Kieran]

Come on!! Still obsessed with Djokovic. You are the only one!! Grow up.

Totally unaffected and bemused by this comment..

 

[Kieran]

Two things really bugged me about the tournament and especially the final:

I HATE the on-court coaching. Detest it.

And Carlos COACH got a trophy? Seriously? Why? Why? There's absolutely no way to measure that he was the best coach at the tournament, given the raw materials he's working with, but a trophy? FFS. File that shit under what Don Draper told Peggy: "That's what the money is for!!" You get paid - you don't get trophies!

It's gimmicky and both of these itchy irritants above are going to make celebrities out of coaches - and vice versa - and distract from the players in future.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Margaret's Photos from the AO

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

More of Margaret's Photos from the AO

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Two things really bugged me about the tournament and especially the final:

I HATE the on-court coaching. Detest it.

And Carlos COACH got a trophy? Seriously? Why? Why? There's absolutely no way to measure that he was the best coach at the tournament, given the raw materials he's working with, but a trophy? FFS. File that shit under what Don Draper told Peggy: "That's what the money is for!!" You get paid - you don't get trophies!

It's gimmicky and both of these itchy irritants above are going to make celebrities out of coaches - and vice versa - and distract from the players in future.

The coaches box were on virtually on court at 2 ends of RLA and the players put their towels right near the coaches box, of course they cant get coaching unless their player is up near their box, I 'Never thought I would see the day when the WTA and now ATP allow coaching, I Hate It, tennis is an individual sport and tactics are a very important part of the game,
Also most people were surprised that Lopez was awarded a trophy ( a small silver tray)

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Margaret's AO Video Log - Mens Final

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

May I add I zoomed in on my camera at times in the match, to see Rafa's reaction, one time he had the 'one eye brow raised' we have seen over the years, another time he held the rail in front of him, his expressions at times were just ' priceless" it was like he was watching his own son on court.

 

[Murat B.]

Holy @MargaretMcAleer , Epstein file dump was smaller than this !
Just kidding, great work, lovely picks and videos

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Holy @MargaretMcAleer , Epstein file dump was smaller than this !
Just kidding, great work, lovely picks and videos

Thanks Murat, but the great work for the photos and videos, belongs to my husband Peter, I am lucky to get a person's head in when I take a photo

 

[Kieran]

Margaret's AO Video Log - Mens Final

Great seats, great photos, great videos, well done Margaret, glad you had a great time!!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Great seats, great photos, great videos, well done Margaret, glad you had a great time!!

Thanks Kieran, I did have great seats, my husband Peter deserves all the credit for the photos and videos
I have just booked again to go to the AO in 2027!

 

[Kieran]

Thanks Kieran, I did have great seats, my husband Peter deserves all the credit for the photos and videos
I have just booked again to go to the AO in 2027!

Excellent! Could be really big history for Carlos: 2 career slams before the age of 23?!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Excellent! Could be really big history for Carlos: 2 career slams before the age of 23?!

You never know, I thought he was going out in the SF, then I remembered his opponent across the net?

 

[Vince Evert]

May I add I zoomed in on my camera at times in the match, to see Rafa's reaction, one time he had the 'one eye brow raised' we have seen over the years, another time he held the rail in front of him, his expressions at times were just ' priceless" it was like he was watching his own son on court.

who did it seem to you, were the crowds supporting more ? Were they Alcaraz or Djokovic or equal for both ? Because listening to the final on radio, it seemed to be more Djokovic crowd.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

who did it seem to you, were the crowds supporting more ? Were they Alcaraz or Djokovic or equal for both ? Because listening to the final on radio, it seemed to be more Djokovic crowd.

There is always a lot of support for Novak at tournaments around the world and at the AO there is a large Serbian fan base,
When Alcaraz won the 2nd set, the fans were supporting him
I think at the end of the day people wanted Novak to win, thinking this may be his last chance to win a major, lets put things in context, Novak had a walkover in the QF and then Musetti who was 2 sets to love up, retired so he was well rested
Though when Alcaraz took the 3rd set, the crowd was in his favour and when Alcaraz fell to the ground in the 4th set making history the crowd erupted for him