Carlos Alcaraz vs Novak Djokovic – Australian Open ultimate LIVE: Game-by-game updates because the Serbian eyes report twenty fifth Grand Slam title while the world no.1 targets profession Grand Slam

There’s something about life Down Under that the talented 22-year-old had never quite worked out, in the past. Until this week, he had failed to even make the semi-finals in Melbourne, which feels unthinkable for the Spaniard at the other majors.

Although he floated through most of the draw, as Sinner and Alcaraz are wont to do these days, he looked in serious trouble midway through his semi-final showdown with Alexander Zverev.

Suffering heavily from the heat with vomiting and cramp, Alcaraz then limped through the third and fourth sets to establish a decider against the world No 3. Then, from… somewhere… he bounced back, and snatched the fifth away from the crushed German.

All that in five hours and 27 minutes. A prolonged ice bath surely followed.

After winning that long-awaited Olympic gold – against Alcaraz, no less – Djokovic has shown no little desire to complete that other milestone, the 25th Grand Slam. But nowhere else has he come closer, the 38-year-old often hampered by the punishing grind of the tour.

Smaller tournaments too, after taking his 100th ATP title in the run-up to the French Open, hold little appear, so often he has appeared not necessarily match-fit at the biggest events.

But his semi-final win against Jannik Sinner was something from another planet, and showed the magic Djokovic still has it his disposal when the rest of the chasing pack are so far off being able to compete with Alcaraz and the Italian.

You can relieve the emotional, sweat-drenched win, below.

Hello and welcome to Daily Mail Sport’s live coverage of men’s Australian Open singles final. A sentence which almost makes it sound rather routine or humdrum. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Instead of your average Grand Slam final, we have Carlos Alcaraz – world No 1 – and Novak Djokovic – 24-time Grand Slam winner – facing off hungry for their own slice of history.

For the younger man, it’s becoming the youngest man in history to complete a career Grand Slam, after winning Roland-Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open.

For the veteran, it’s that elusive 25th Grand Slam, the one that makes him, unimpeachably, the most decorated player in the sport’s history.

Matches don’t come bigger or more loaded than this. Join me, won’t you, as we build up to the 8.30am (GMT) star… we might all need a run-up to this one.