Novak came close to capping off an incredible two weeks in Melbourne and reaching his 25th Grand Slam title, which would have made him the oldest Grand Slam champion in history (38 years and 255 days). The Serbian player was defeated in the Australian Open final by top seed Carlos Alcaraz, who came back to win 2–6, 6–2, 6–3, 7–5, becoming the youngest champion of the season’s first Grand Slam.