Heading to the 2026 Australian Open without a Grand Slam title since 2023, many thought that the GOAT Novak Djokovic was a spent force at the ripe old age of 38. The Serbian will go down in history as the greatest player to have ever picked up a racquet, but the young guns of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner had passed him by in the twilight of his career, carving up all eight of the Slams from the previous two years between themselves.
Sinner had reigned supreme at the Australian Open in each of the last two years, and when Djokovic secured his spot against the Italian in the semifinals a few weeks ago, courtesy of an untimely injury withdrawal from Lorenzo Mussetti, no one gave Nole a chance. He was considered a 5/1 underdog with some outlets before the clash, but the maverick Serb can never be written off. The iconic veteran proceeded to claw his way back from 1-0 down, then 2-1 down, before prevailing in a five-set epic, reminding everyone why he is the Greatest of All Time.
However, the final would prove to be one step too far. Despite dominating the first set in the Melbourne showpiece against young prodigy Carlos Alcaraz, the Spaniard would roar back to life to reel off three straight sets and claim the title, his first in Australia. The 23-year-old had already beaten Djokovic in Slam finals before, but who else has managed such a feat throughout Nole’s epic 20-plus-year career? Let’s take a look.
Carlos Alcaraz
Three Grand Slam finals against Novak Djokovic. Three wins. Nobody else in the current game owns that kind of psychological real estate in the GOAT’s head. Wimbledon 2023 was the announcement—a 20-year-old refusing to be awed by Centre Court or Djokovic’s aura, winning a five-set war 1-6, 7-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-4 after getting mauled in the opener. He came back a year later and did it again on the same grass, making it look almost routine as he romped to a straight-sets victory, proving he was only getting better while Nole was beginning to slow down.
Then Melbourne happened. Djokovic had every reason to believe this was his—the Australian Open’s been his personal kingdom forever. But Alcaraz’s game is the perfect Djokovic antidote: explosive court coverage that matches Novak’s defense, aggressive baseline power that doesn’t let him settle, and zero fear in the biggest moments. Federer, Nadal, and Murray combined went 7-13 against Djokovic in Slam finals. Alcaraz is 3-0 before he’s old enough to rent a car.
The upcoming French Open could well see Djokovic get another crack at Alcaraz, and whether he does or doesn’t, there will be a budding new outlet covering both stars’ efforts every step of the way. That outlet is the soon-to-launch Ozoon sports betting site, which is making the final preparations for its unbeatable sports offering before rolling it out to the public. Fans will be brought closer to the court than ever before, with Ozoon offering round-the-clock coverage of tennis’ biggest tournaments. But whether they will be covering one last hurrah from Nole on the clay courts of Paris remains to be seen.
Daniil Medvedev
In the 2021 US Open final, Djokovic was hours away from tennis immortality—the Calendar Grand Slam, the 21st major to break the Big Three tie, history that nobody’d achieved in 52 years. Then, Daniil Medvedev dismantled the undisputed world number one in straight sets. 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. The Russian’s flat, metronomic baseline game and his serve-and-one patterns turned Djokovic’s usually impenetrable defense into something ordinary. But the tactics only tell half the story.
Djokovic was crying during the changeover before the match even ended, overwhelmed by the pressure, the weight of what he couldn’t complete. Medvedev became the only man to beat Djokovic when a Calendar Slam was on the line—a spoiler role nobody else can claim. The irony? Djokovic got his revenge in the 2023 US Open final, winning number 24 and securing his redemption against Medvedev. But would he swap titles with the Russian, given the chance? With the amount of history he’d have created in the Big Apple that September 2021 night, you bet he would.
Rafael Nadal
Five Grand Slam final victories over Djokovic. Nobody else has more than three. Admittedly, he had to lose five other finals against Djokovic in order to win four himself, but that takes nothing away from the achievement.
Three came at Roland-Garros—Nadal’s kingdom, where Djokovic entered as the world number one and left defeated every time. The 2020 final was carnage: October’s pandemic-delayed French Open, played under a closed roof, where Nadal opened with a 6-0 bagel—the first time he’d ever blanked Djokovic in a Slam set—then cruised 6-2, 7-5. That was Nadal’s 13th Roland-Garros title, equaling Federer’s then-record 20 Slams, and Djokovic was helpless.
The 2012 and 2014 Parisian finals? Same story—Nadal’s clay-court supremacy rendering Djokovic’s brilliance irrelevant. Then there’s the hard-court wins: US Open 2010 and 2013, where Nadal’s physicality overwhelmed the Serbian’s consistency. The latter of those two finals came during Nadal’s comeback season, proving he could still dominate the biggest stages.
But while Nadal may have won his battles, Djokovic won the war. He’s still competing at the highest level while his nemesis enjoys his second year of retirement. And if that wasn’t enough, when all is said and done, Nole will himself head into retirement with at least two more Slams to his name.
Stan Wawrinka
Carlos Alcaraz is one man who has a perfect record against Djokovic in Slam finals. The other? Stan Wawrinka.
The Swiss star only ever reached four Grand Slam showpieces, facing Nole on two occasions. And both times, he shockingly emerged victorious, despite Djokovic leading their overall head-to-head 20-6. How does a guy who gets routinely dismantled suddenly become unbeatable when trophies are at stake?
Paris 2015 answers that question: Wawrinka hit 60 winners, his one-handed backhand ripping through Djokovic’s defense like it didn’t exist and denying the Serb his maiden French Open title on his third trip to the final and first not against Nadal. Then, at the 2016 US Open, Djokovic’s body and mind were betraying him after finally completing his career Slam earlier that year. Wawrinka capitalized in four sets, proving that Roland Garros triumph the year prior was no fluke.
Andy Murray
No man has lost more Grand Slam finals to Djokovic than Andy Murray. The two have faced off in seven Slam finals, with the GOAT winning five of them. Still, however, the Brit has enjoyed his moments in the sun.
The 2012 US Open was Murray’s breakthrough—his first Slam title after four failed finals, a five-set war that ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam champion. Then came Wimbledon 2013, the one that mattered most. Seventy-seven years since Fred Perry. Centre Court pressure that would’ve crushed anyone else. Murray straight-setted Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4, and a nation exhaled.
The tragedy? Murray’s catastrophic hip injury, which robbed him of a chance to improve that miserable 5-2 record in Slam showpieces. How many more finals could he have won if the proud Scotsman’s body had cooperated? We’ll never know.
Roger Federer
For many, Roger Federer is the greatest player of all time, not Djokovic. One look at their record against each other in finals should tell you that those people are incorrect. The two storied rivals have met in five Slam finals, with Djokovic winning four of them. The Swiss ace’s sole triumph came way back in the 2007 US Open, when Nole was just 20 years of age and heading into his first Slam final.
Federer would get the job done, winning against his relative rookie of an opponent with a minimum of fuss. He would never beat Djokovic under the bright lights again.
