If anyone can do it, it's Djokovic

Although everyone expected another clash between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, it was the Serbian ace who stood in the Italian&rsquo;s way in the semifinals.The Spaniard nearly fell as well but miraculously bounced back in the deciding set of his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev, who &lsquo;collapsed&rsquo; &ndash; in his usual style.Exactly 16 years apart and at opposite ends of their careers, both are chasing the same prize &ndash; the &lsquo;Norman Brookes&rsquo; trophy.Novak has already won it 10 times, a record in Melbourne, while Carlos is still missing it to complete his Grand Slam collection.The spectacular clash between two generations, youth and experience, is scheduled for Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on the Rod Laver Arena.Sofascore&quot;Twenty-two-year-old Alcaraz aims to become the youngest player to win titles at all the major tournaments, while Djokovic has the chance to become the oldest winner in Australian Open history.&#39;History is at stake every time we play. A Grand Slam final brings a lot, but it&rsquo;s no different from any other match a player faces,&#39; Djokovic said.The long-awaited final also raises the question of which of the two players will recover better from their Friday marathons.Alcaraz eliminated last year&rsquo;s finalist Alexander Zverev in a thriller that lasted five hours and 27 minutes, while Djokovic defeated the reigning champion Jannik Sinner in four hours and nine minutes of play.Carlos, he says, pushed himself to the limit, while Novak described his triumph as &#39;one of my best performances in the past ten years.&#39;&#39;Biologically, I think he will recover more easily,&#39; said Djokovic, who decided to skip training on Saturday.NOVAK DJOKOVIC BEATS JANNIK SINNER IN A SEMIFINAL THRILLER 🔥Djokovic advances to face Carlos Alcaraz for the Australian Open championship 🏆 pic.twitter.com/x4M9wXPAri&mdash; SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 30, 2026Alcaraz defeated Djokovic in their last encounter, the US Open semifinal last season.The margin between the two has always been small, and just 12 months ago, Novak celebrated a quarterfinal win at this very venue.Djokovic leads their head-to-head 5&ndash;4 but has lost three of their last five Grand Slam meetings.The upcoming showdown, which also carries a $4,150,000 prize, will be decided primarily by baseline play.Both players will rely heavily on their serve and first shots, trying to dictate play with a high-paced rhythm while testing each other&rsquo;s limits.Return points could also prove decisive. Regardless of who wins, the record books are sure to be enriched.CARLOS ALCARAZ BEATS THE CRAMPS AND ALEXANDER ZVEREV TO REACH HIS FIRST AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL 🤩🤩🤩pic.twitter.com/FnQkWKRTUl&mdash; Fanatics Sportsbook (@FanaticsBook) January 30, 20262005 champion Marat Safin believes that age has helped Alcaraz shield himself from expectations.&#39;When you are young and ambitious, and everything is exciting and new, it&rsquo;s easy to embrace the pressure. Later on, finding motivation is more complicated. I would call that talent,&#39; Safin said.Alcaraz&rsquo;s composure has already worked in his favor so far, as noted by the legendary Lleyton Hewitt.&#39;It doesn&rsquo;t surprise me. He has everything it takes to become a champion. The bigger the match and the bigger the stage, the better he plays,&#39; Hewitt said.Mark Philippoussis points out that Novak benefited greatly from retirements by Jakub Men&scaron;&iacute;k and Lorenzo Musetti, but he still believes it will be tough for him to fully recover.Patrick Rafter, who retired at 30 due to lack of motivation and injury problems, can&rsquo;t believe all that Novak has achieved as he approaches his 39th birthday.&#39;That guy is incredible, in better shape than ever. He looks unbelievable. If anyone can do it, it&rsquo;s the greatest of all time,&#39; Rafter said.Cup Tree provided by Sofascore

If anyone can do it, it's Djokovic

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