Carlos Alcaraz targets first Australian Open title to complete Career Grand Slam

Carlos Alcaraz spoke about his goal of completing the Career Grand Slam at the upcoming Australian Open. The 4-time Grand Slam champion already has the French Open (2024), Wimbledon (2023, 2024), and US Open (2022) titles in his collection.

At just 21 years old, Alcaraz has already achieved 60 main draw wins in Slams with only 11 losses (85%). Alongside his four titles, he also has two additional semifinal and three quarterfinal appearances. The tournament where he still has the most to prove is the Australian Open, where he currently has only 7 wins.

In his three participations, Alcaraz has yet to have a standout performance in Melbourne; he was eliminated in the second round in 2021 and in the third round in 2022. An injury kept him out of the tournament in 2023, and this year, he reached the second week for the first time but was eliminated by Alexander Zverev.

Undoubtedly, the Australian Open is where Alcaraz has the most unfinished business, but pursuing the title doesn’t seem like an impossible mission. However, he has experienced arriving at the tournament without enough rhythm to make it beyond the quarterfinals.

The Spaniard spoke about his goal of winning the Australian Open title and, like his other Grand Slam titles, getting a tattoo if he achieves it. “I have it in mind, I have in mind to get a tattoo of the kangaroo,” he said.

“I’m going to try to have a good holiday first. For me, it’s super important to be able to disconnect from tennis. And to come back fresh for the preseason so that it’s brilliant, brutal, to arrive in Australia in the best possible shape both tennis-wise, physically, and mentally. The goal is to complete the ‘Grand Slam’ in Melbourne,” stated the current world No. 3.

Alcaraz is currently preparing for his debut in the ATP Finals this Monday, November 11, when he faces the 6th seed Casper Ruud. They share a group along with Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev, who will face off in Monday’s night session. The two players with the best results in the Round Robin will qualify for the ATP Finals semifinals.