It was a final that was guaranteed to be historic, with Alcaraz looking to become the youngest man ever to win all four majors and Djokovic aiming to become the first player ever to win 25 of them.
As Rafael Nadal watched on in the crowd, it initially looked as if the record that Alcaraz was chasing would remain his, with Djokovic emphatically winning the opening set 6-2. The Serb dropped just two points on his serve and dominated the baseline exchanges to race into the lead.
However, the tables then turned. Alcaraz found his groove and produced some stunning winners, while Djokovic's own level dropped off. The result was another short 6-2 set, but this time one won by the Spaniard.
The two greats had yet to produce their best tennis at the same time, but that changed in the third set as Djokovic began to serve well again and put his rival under pressure, leading to some thrilling exchanges. It wasn't enough though, with Alcaraz breaking serve in the fifth game and the final one to take the set 6-3 in just under an hour.
Djokovic looked exhausted at this point, and yet somehow defied all logic to stay alive as Alcaraz sought to turn the screw, holding serve in the second game of the fourth set despite trailing 40-15 and facing six break points.
Both kept their cool on serve after that, until Djokovic double-faulted while trailing 6-5 to give Alcaraz two championship points and then sent a forehand long.
The Spaniard fell to the ground in celebration and rose as an Australian Open champion, and male tennis' youngest ever holder of a Career Slam.
"I think nobody knows how hard I've been working to get this trophy to taste this moment," Alcaraz said at the trophy ceremony, thanking his team.
"Pre-season was a bit rough emotionally. We went through, not hearing what the people were saying, and did the right work.
"You were pushing me to do the right work, really grateful for everyone in that corner, this trophy is yours."
Djokovic's wait for a 25th Grand Slam goes on, with it now almost two years on, but the 38-year-old showed in his semi-final win over Jannik Sinner in Australia that he still has what it takes to finally pull clear of Margaret Court and stand alone as the player with the most majors to their name.
How long he'll continue that quest before hanging up his racket is unclear, but he joked after the match that he has plenty of time yet.
"Thank you very much, first and foremost to Carlos. Amazing tournament and two weeks, to your family, team, what you are doing is historic," Djokovic said.
"I wish you the best of luck for the rest of your career... You're so young, you'll have a lot of time, like me. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other for another ten years."
Striking a more serious note though, the Serb admitted that he could have just played his final match at the tournament he's won a record-breaking 10 times.
"God knows what happens tomorrow, let alone in 6 months or 12 months, so... It has been a great ride. I love you guys."
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