Carlos Alcaraz will have the world watching him when he steps on the court at the Australian Open next week. The 22-year-old is looking to become the youngest men’s player to capture his career Grand Slam—winning at least one title in each of the four majors. He just needs the title in Melbourne to complete the lofty achievement.
Alcaraz, of course, will have to trudge past his rival Jannik Sinner, who is looking to win a three-peat in Australia. Coincidentally, Sinner is also looking to complete his career Grand Slam this year, but he just needs the French Open title.
When speaking with ESPN this week, Alcaraz came up with the perfect solution for him and Sinner to achieve this goal.
“I would trade Australia for Roland-Garros with Jannik,” Alcaraz said. “I would trade that, to be honest.”
That seems like a fair trade. But, the two young tennis superstars are pretty competitive—it would be difficult for them to not try their absolute hardest at winning the titles. The two did split major titles last year (Sinner with the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and Alcaraz with the French Open and U.S. Open).
Alcaraz could complete the career grand slam this month, even if tennis legend Roger Federer thinks it could be a difficult task that looms over Alcaraz for a while. Federer compared Alcaraz’s goal to golf’s Rory McIlroy, who just completed his career Grand Slam at the Masters last year after waiting 11 years after winning his last major tournament to do so. Hopefully for Alcaraz, it doesn’t take him that long.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Carlos Alcaraz Poses Perfect Solution for Him, Jannik Sinner to Earn Career Grand Slams in 2026.
