MELBOURNE - Carlos Alcaraz is targeting a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open but winning the only major to elude him will be no easy feat with great rival Jannik Sinner standing in his way.
Spain's Alcaraz already has six major titles under his belt aged just 22, but success on the Melbourne Park hard courts is a glaring hole in his resume.
He has not made it past the quarter-finals in four trips to Australia, losing at that stage in 2025 to Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev the year before.
"It's my first goal to be honest," Alcaraz said of Australia after winning the US Open last year, his second Slam title of 2025 after defending his crown at Roland Garros.
"When I just go to the pre-seasons to what I want to improve, what I want to achieve, Australian Open is there."
Should he snap his Australia drought at the tournament starting on Sunday, Alcaraz would become the youngest man to bank a career Grand Slam, surpassing retired compatriot Rafael Nadal.
Nadal secured all four majors by the age of 24.
Alcaraz faces a significant roadblock in Italy's Sinner, the two-time defending champion who is chasing his own slice of history.
If the 24-year-old makes it three in a row in Melbourne he would join Djokovic as the only men in the Open era to do so. The Serbian legend has done the three-peat twice during his 10 titles at Melbourne Park.
"I feel like a better player than last year," warned Sinner after completing his 2025 campaign with 58 wins and just six defeats.
"A lot of wins and not many losses. And in the losses I had, I tried to see the positive thing and tried to use it to evolve me as a player."
Sinner came from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 Australian Open final before seeing off Zverev in straight sets a year ago.
While Sinner is the defending champion, Alcaraz leads 10-6 in their head-to-head record and bumped Sinner from the season-ending world number one spot.