Carlos Alcaraz Jokes He ‘Would Trade Australian Open for Roland Garros’ Trophy with Jannik Sinner to Achieve Career Grand Slam
Carlos Alcaraz needs the Australian Open, while Jannik Sinner needs the French Open, to complete the Career Grand Slam.
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Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Carlos Alcaraz 4K)
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Carlos Alcaraz will become the ninth man in the history of tennis to achieve the Career Grand Slam if he lifts the Australian Open, the main draw of which will start on January 18 at Melbourne Park. Alcaraz is not shy about admitting that he wants to add the first Major of the season to his trophy cabinet.
He became a Grand Slam winner for the first time at the 2022 US Open and went on to lift the title last year as well. At Wimbledon, Alcaraz emerged triumphant in 2023 and 2024, both times defeating Novak Djokovic. He reached his third consecutive final at SW19 last year but failed to go past Jannik Sinner.
Prior to Wimbledon defeat, Alcaraz made an epic comeback to defend the French Open title by beating Sinner. But at the Australian Open, he is a two-time quarterfinalist.
Alcaraz and Sinner need the Australian Open and the French Open, respectively, to complete the Career Grand Slam. Sinner is the winner of the 2024 and 2025 Australian Open, 2024 US Open, and the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
Alcaraz’s win in the Major Down Under will make him the youngest man in the Open Era to achieve the Career Grand Slam feat. Although the Spaniard is serious about adding the missing Major to his trophy cabinet, he also joked that he wishes Sinner also wins the clay-court Major.
I would trade Australia for Roland-Garros with Jannik. I would rather trade that, to be honest.
Carlos Alcaraz told The Associated Press
In the previous two seasons in Melbourne, the 22-year-old was eliminated by Alexander Zverev (2024) and Djokovic (2025) in the last eight. Sinner will be bidding for the three-peat in the event, having defeated Daniil Medvedev in 2024 and Zverev last year. If Sinner wins, he will become only the second man, after the 24-time Grand Slam champion, to win three back-to-back titles in the event.
Roger Federer on the thrilling Carlos Alcaraz versus Jannik Sinner French Open final
At the 2025 Roland Garros, Carlos Alcaraz met Jannik Sinner for the first time in a Grand Slam final, and it exceeded all expectations. The match was tight from the very beginning, and Sinner later took a 2-0 set lead. Alcaraz saved himself from the brink of defeat by winning the third set.
Sinner found himself serving for the match at 40-0 in the fourth set, but to his utter disappointment, his arch-rival saved three championship points, before eventually winning it as well as the fifth set through the tie-breaker. Roger Federer, who is back at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2020 and will headline the opening ceremony on Saturday, called the Sinner-Alcaraz French Open final “crazy” during his press conference.
They play incredible tennis. That French Open final was unreal. It just ended up in this crazy fashion, maybe one of the greatest games we’ve ever had in our sport.
It was the second time they met in 2025. Before the French Open, the World No.1 and the World No.2 clashed in the Italian Open final, with the former emerging triumphant in straight sets. They went on to face each other in the finals of Wimbledon, Cincinnati Masters, US Open, and the ATP Finals, with the four-time Grand Slam champion winning the grass-court Major and defending the year-end championships.
Before arriving in the Australian city, both Alcaraz and Sinner participated in an exhibition event in South Korea and reportedly pocketed $2.3 million as prize money. They also met in the finals of the Six Kings Slam in 2024 and 2025, with Sinner winning both times and taking home $6 million. Alcaraz holds a 10-6 head-to-head lead over the 24-year-old.
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