Jake Michaels
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- Jake Michaels is a Melbourne-based sports activities author who has labored for ESPN since 2013. He primarily writes on the AFL, however his assignments have taken him throughout the world, masking every little thing from Formula One to Grand Slam tennis, championship boxing to worldwide basketball, and the Olympic Games.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz has by no means received the Australian Open, nor has he performed in the closing of the match. In reality, the world No. 1 has but to make a semifinal look at the yr’s first Grand Slam.
It appears ludicrous. Unfathomable, even. Surely, a fast Wikipedia examine will straighten this one out.
After all, few tennis gamers in historical past have loved a 40-month run of dominance fairly like Alcaraz. Since August 2022, the magnetic Spaniard has received Wimbledon twice, the French Open twice, the US Open twice and prevailed in eight Masters 1000 occasions. At 19, he grew to become the ATP’s youngest-ever world No. 1, and he has amassed a staggering $50 million in prize cash — a determine already ok for fifth place on tennis’ all-time highest earners’ listing.
“I’m hungry for the title,” Carlos Alcaraz stated on the eve of the Australian Open. DAVID GRAY / AFP through Getty Images
But regardless of all of Alcaraz’s accolades, the Australian Open title stays a stark omission from his résumé. Not solely has he did not elevate the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, however he additionally has by no means actually come near conquering the area Down Under — a distinction to how he has fared at tennis’ three different majors. At Wimbledon, he has received 89% of matches performed. At the French Open? Again, 89%. How about the US Open? You guessed it: 89%. Heading into this yr’s Australian Open, Alcaraz’s win charge was “just” 73%.
“I’m hungry for the title,” Alcaraz stated on the eve of the match. “This is my main goal for this year. The first tournament, the main goal. I just really want to perform better than I did previous years.”
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To this level in his profession, Alcaraz’s most memorable match at Melbourne Park stays his third-round tie in 2022 towards eventual semifinalist Matteo Berrettini. The then-18-year-old Alcaraz turned in a Herculean efficiency underneath blazing sunshine on Rod Laver Arena, in a match that went to a fifth-set decider and lasted greater than 4 hours. And although Alcaraz would fall agonizingly brief, it was a glimpse into the outrageous expertise that may quickly grow to be the benchmark of the tour.
But since then, each Alcaraz journey again to Australia has both resulted in extreme disappointment or been canceled earlier than it started.
In 2023, as the freshly minted world No. 1, a devastated Alcaraz was pressured to withdraw from the match after struggling a hamstring harm in the closing weeks of his coaching camp. He returned in 2024 to a lot fanfare, however was upset by an ultra-efficient Alexander Zverev in a one-sided quarterfinal that did not showcase him at his greatest.
OH MY ALCARAZ
This is UNREAL @carlosalcaraz • @wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/fSZZ2aITyo
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2026
Last yr’s marketing campaign was additionally derailed in the quarterfinals, dropping to 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in 4 units.
“It’s tricky not to have gone further than quarterfinals here in Australia because I feel like I’m playing good tennis here. The last two years I’ve been playing really good tennis,” Alcaraz stated earlier in the week. “Zverev and Djokovic … it’s unusual players you play against in quarterfinal if you are [ranked] one or two in the world.”
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That loss to Djokovic spurred Alcaraz to the most profitable season of his profession. He claimed eight titles, together with the US Open and French Open crowns, reached 9 consecutive match finals between April and September and received a career-best 71 of 80 matches performed.
Alcaraz has carried that kind into this fortnight’s occasion at Melbourne Park, having breezed by way of to the fourth spherical with out dropping a set. His spherical of 32 tie towards France’s Corentin Moutet was a two-hour showcase of his ridiculous talent, craft and athleticism, a match that left his seeded opponent laughing to himself — and void of solutions.
Now, a match towards American Tommy Paul awaits, with the winner to face both Tenth-seed Alexander Bublik or Australia’s top-ranked Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals.
Capping this fortnight with the Australian Open title would make Alcaraz the ninth males’s participant to gather all 4 majors in a profession. He would even be the youngest of the group to attain the feat, shattering compatriot Rafael Nadal’s present report by virtually two full years.
“Completing the career Grand Slam is something amazing to do. To be the youngest [to have] done it before is even better,” Alcaraz stated. “I’m just happy with the way I see myself improving every match, every practice. I know that I’m going to keep going forward.
“I’m feeling this yr might be a kind of years that I will, or I’ll have an opportunity.”
