(Video) Carlos Alcaraz Dons LeBron James Jersey During Intense Practice Session Ahead of Australian Open

Carlos Alcaraz, upon arriving in Melbourne, did not waste much time as he started his preparation for the Australian Open, the qualifying rounds of which are underway. The first Major of the season is scheduled to commence on January 18.

Alcaraz will be chasing his career’s first title in the Major Down Under. The 22-year-old is the winner of two Wimbledon, French Open, and US Open titles, but at the Australian Open, he has never progressed past the quarterfinals, reaching the last eight twice, in 2024 and 2025, losing in four sets both times to eventual runner-up Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic, respectively.

Alcaraz will be bidding to complete the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open. If he wins, he will surpass Rafael Nadal to become the youngest man in the Open Era to accomplish this feat.

The six-time Grand Slam champion donned basketball great Lebron James’ Lakers jersey during his first training session, the clip of which has surfaced on social media.

Here’s the video:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by TNT Sports (@tntsports)

Prior to arriving in Melbourne, the Murcia native participated in a lucrative exhibition event in Incheon, South Korea. He defeated his arch-rival Jannik Sinner in straight sets. The Italian will be playing the Australian Open as the two-time defending champion, and another win will make him only the second man, after Djokovic, to complete the three-peat in the Open Era.

Ben Shelton makes his feelings known on Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s dominance

Ben Shelton is one of the players who is backed by many to break the dominance of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The American ace is in Auckland and will commence his campaign for the 2026 season against Francisco Comesana. In the pre-tournament press conference, he was asked if he thinks other players would be able to catch up with the World No.1 and the World No.2.

I don’t know, they’ve certainly been ahead of the pack the last couple of years, but in my mind, there’s definitely guys who can come up there and challenge, young guys who are playing great, are playing better and better every year.

Shelton trails 0-3 in the head-to-head matchups against Alcaraz. But against Sinner, Shelton has lost eight of the nine matches.

To be doing what Alcaraz and Sinner are doing at such a young age, you forget how young they are, it’s not normal, but I think that there are so many young guys that haven’t fully developed, or we haven’t seen their best tennis yet, and I think there’s a lot of opportunity for a lot of guys out there.

Ben Shelton added

Shelton is a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist, reaching the last four at the 2023 US Open and last year’s Australian Open. Sinner ended his run in Melbourne last year.

In the 2025 season, Shelton made two finals. He lost the Munich Open to Alexander Zverev but was successful in defeating Karen Khachanov at the Canadian Open, lifting his career’s first Big Title.

But last year, Alcaraz won the most on the men’s tour – eight titles from 11 finals, including the French Open and the US Open, by defeating Sinner. The four-time Grand Slam champion took home six titles from 10 finals, including the Australian Open and Wimbledon, which he won by defeating Zverev and Alcaraz, respectively.

Sinner and Alcaraz, in fact, have split the last eight Majors. Last year, the former made the finals of all four Majors and the ATP Finals, becoming the youngest man in the Open Era to do so. At the ATP Finals, he went past Alcaraz in straight sets, defending his title. In their head-to-head meetings, Sinner trails 6-10.

Also read: Aryna Sabalenka Explains Adjustments to her Game Ahead of the Australian Open

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW