He is just 21 years of age but has already won four Grand Slam titles including the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. Which is why it’s a bit surprising that Carlos Alcaraz has made only the quarterfinals at the Australian Open so far in his career.
But all that could change quickly according to the Spaniard.
Speaking in a press conference before he took to court for the Garden Cup – an exhibition tournament played in New York before the start of the 2025 season – Alcaraz said he had no problems with having not won a title at the Australian Open so far, indicating it would only be a matter of time.
Alcaraz, who starts off 5/2 to win the season’s first major next month, told reporters:
“I am confident that I will be the champion of Australia sooner or later. Let’s hope it’s this coming year.”
The Spaniard explained one of the reasons why it hasn’t happened so far is that all his competitors are typically in fine fettle at the start of the season. He said, the players are ready “to put their cards on the table and will demonstrate everything they have worked for to achieve a good result” at the season-opener.
And while Alcaraz hopes he can end his Australian Open drought – he has featured in three editions, having missed it in 2023 because of a hamstring injury – he will have tough competition from two of his biggest rivals, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic.
Sinner is the defending champion and the world number one and while he is battling off-court issues, he starts off a huge favourite to grab the title again (bookmakers are offering 2/1 for his victory). He is coming off wins at the US Open and ATP Finals to go with that Australian Open victory.
Djokovic, on the other hand, is coming off a barren year and will be hungrier than usual to change that. He has joined hands with Andy Murray who will be his coach for the upcoming edition of the Australian Open.
Alcaraz acknowledged that the Djokovic-Murray combination is good for tennis and even joked that it would make his job that much more difficult as he would now have to face the duo together.
The former world number one, who has Juan Carlos Ferrero as his coach will now be joined by Samuel Lopez in his travelling team. Lopez has coached Pablo Carreno Busta in the past.
