Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz is already ready for a rematch: the Murcian speaks out

The season has just ended, but Carlos Alcaraz is already ready to take revenge on Jannik Sinner after his defeat in the final at the ATP Finals in Turin. In fact, the Murcian champion, who ended 2025 ranked No. 1 in the world rankings, is betting big on the Australian Open, the only Grand Slam tournament that has never seen him victorious in the end. Challenges on Melbourne’s concrete, indeed, have always been difficult for Alcaraz, whose best result is reaching the quarterfinals, both in the 2024 edition and in 2025, mocked first by Alexander Zverev and then by Novak Djokovic.

Talking to the official channels of the’Australian Open, Alcaraz explained that he wants to break this taboo, interrupting the winning streak of his friend-rival Sinner, victorious in the last two years: “I want to win as many Slam tournaments as possible– said the Murcian -. The 2026 Australian Open will be great, it is my first goal of the season: when I start preparing, what I want to improve at and what tournaments I want to win, the’Australian Open is there on the list. Winning it would give me a chance to complete the Career Grand Slam, also it allows me to compete for the annual Grand Slam”.

Francesco Lucivero

“I will try next year and if it doesn&#8220t go well in two, three or four years – added Alcaraz -The rivalry with Jannik Sinner? I’m really grateful that it’s there because it gives me the opportunity to give 100 percent in every practice, every day. The level that I have to maintain and that I have to try to raise further if I want to beat Jannik is really very high”. Sinner and Alcaraz, who have faced each other sixteen times in their careers on the major circuit (seventeen counting a match at Challenger level), have never played each other at the Australian Open. Next year’s seed allocation will mean that the’only crossover may come in the final: the two champions have played no fewer than six in 2025 alone, with four wins by Alcaraz and two by Sinner.

The 2026 edition of the Australian Open will be number 114 overall, fifty-eighth in the Open Era. Sinner is the only Italian to have won it at the individual level, while in doubles there have been the successes of Sara Errani and Roberta Vinci in 2013 and 2014, Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli in 2015, as well as that of Flavia Pennetta paired with Argentina’s Gisela Dulko in 2011.