Carlos Alcaraz is aiming for a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, but winning the only major that eludes him will be no easy feat with his great rival Jannik Sinner standing in his way.
The Spaniard from Alcaraz already has six major titles to his name at just 22 years old, but success on the hard courts of Melbourne Park is a glaring hole in his record.
He has not progressed past the quarter-finals in four trips to Australia, losing at this stage in 2025 to Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev the year before.
“That’s my first goal to be honest,” Alcaraz said of Australia after winning the US Open last year, its second Grand Slam title in 2025 after defending its crown at Roland Garros.
“When I look to pre-season to see what I want to improve on, what I want to achieve, the Australian Open is there.”
If he ends his drought in Australia at the tournament which begins on Sunday, Alcaraz would become the youngest man to win a career Grand Slam, surpassing retired compatriot Rafael Nadal.
Nadal has won all four major tournaments at the age of 24.
Alcaraz faces a significant obstacle in the person of Italian Sinner, a two-time reigning champion who is pursuing his own slice of history.
If the 24-year-old succeeds in a third consecutive match in Melbourne, he would join Djokovic as the only man in the Open era to do so. The Serbian legend has completed the hat-trick twice in his 10 titles at Melbourne Park.
“I feel like a better player than last year,” Sinner warned after finishing his 2025 campaign with 58 wins and just six losses.
“A lot of victories and few defeats. And in the defeats I suffered, I tried to see the positive and I tried to use it to develop myself as a player.”
Sinner came from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 Australian Open final before beating Zverev in straight sets a year ago.
Hunt for Djokovic records
While Sinner is the defending champion, Alcaraz leads 10-6 in his head-to-head record and has dethroned Sinner from the season-ending world No. 1 spot.
They met in a lightweight exhibition match in South Korea last weekend, their only warm-up for Melbourne, with Alcaraz leading the way.
Such is the dominance of the ‘Sincaraz’ that they have shared the last eight Grand Slam titles, winning four each since Djokovic won his 24th major at the 2023 US Open.
The Serbian is back in his most successful hunting ground but questions remain over his fitness and form, with the 38-year-old withdrawing from the Adelaide International this week.
Still chasing a record 25th major crown, Djokovic could be entering his final Australian Open and will be desperate to win there again.
Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four majors last year, but went no further, admitting “I can only do what I can do.”
World number three Zverev, along with Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked fifth, sixth and seventh respectively, will look to spoil the party and win a first major tournament.
Medvedev, a three-time losing finalist, is a dark horse after winning the inaugural Brisbane International, while American learner Tien spearheads the new guard who just won the ATP Next Gen title.
Jakub Mensik and Joao Fonseca are also among the young talents looking to make their mark, while Alexander Bublik will be keen to go further after winning the Hong Kong Open and breaking into the top 10.
