Sinner in way as Alcaraz eyes career Grand Slam; Keys clinches Adelaide International title

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.

Djokovic record hunt: 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. They met in a light-hearted exhibition match in South Korea last weekend, the pair’s only warm-up for Melbourne, with Alcaraz coming out on top.

Such is the dominance of “Sincaraz”, as they are being called, they have shared the last eight Grand Slam titles, picking up four each since Djokovic won his 24th major at the 2023 US Open.

The Serb is back again at his most successful hunting ground, but there are questions over his fitness and form with the 38-year-old pulling out of this week’s Adelaide International.

Still chasing a record 25th major crown, Djokovic could be at his last Australian Open and will be desperate to win there again.

Djokovic made the semis at all four majors last year but went no further, admitting “I can do only as much as I can do”.

World number three Zverev, along with Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked five, six and seven respectively, will be looking to crash the party and win a first major.

Smith wins One Point Slam: An amateur tennis player from Sydney, Jordan Smith, struck gold on Wednesday as he walked away with a cheque worth $661,000 after holding his nerve to win the ‘One Point Slam’ ahead of the Australian Open.

The showdown pitted amateur players and celebrities against an elite field of 24 professionals, which included the likes of Alcaraz, Sinner and Iga Swiatek.

Smith, who qualified as the New South Wales state champion, got the better of two-times Australian Open winner Sinner and women’s world number four Amanda Anisimova, before beating Joanna Garland in the final.

Meanwhile, defending Australian Open champion Madison Keys overcame some first-set serve wobbles to win her latest warm-up match for the opening Grand Slam of the year on Wednesday.

The 30-year-old American, who will be seeded ninth when the Australian Open begins on Sunday, beat Czech teenager Tereza Valentova 6-4, 6-1 at the Adelaide International.

Keys, who won in Adelaide last year before going on to lift her maiden major, served up seven double faults in the opening set against the 18-year-old.

She improved in the second, breaking twice and converting her third match point to reach the quarter-finals after an 85-minute workout on court.

“Experience helps get through the tricky moments,” Keys said.

Agencies