Former World No.1 Tips Jannik Sinner to Win the Australian Open Despite Carlos Alcaraz Challenge
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are the favorites to win the 2026 Australian Open.
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Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)
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For the third consecutive season, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s rivalry is set to be the major headline in the ATP. Both players are favorites to win the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament in 2026. But former World No.1 Mats Wilander has tipped Sinner to win the Melbourne Grand Slam over Alcaraz.
On Sunday (January 11), Alcaraz and Sinner arrived in Australia, stepping off the same private jets with their teams, having left South Korea on Saturday. Both players featured in an exhibition match in Seoul, with Sinner handing his racket to a boy in the front row, who won a point to the amazement of the crowd.
Both players earned over $1.7 million each after the match as they opted not to play in any warm-up tournament ahead of the Australian Open. For Sinner, winning the Melbourne Grand Slam solidifies his place as one of the best players on the hard court and gives him an advantage heading into the year.
On the other hand, for Alcaraz, winning the Australian Open will be a dream come true after failing to reach the semi-finals in the last two editions. The title remains the only Grand Slam silverware missing in his trophy cabinet. Should he win the title for the first time this year, he will become the youngest men’s player to complete a Career Grand Slam.
During a conversation on TNT Sports, Mats Wilander pointed out that Sinner seems to be the favorite to win the Australian Open as several players find it hard to beat him on the hard court. He added that Alcaraz might be able to reach the championship match and would like to see him face Sinner:
I think that Jannik Sinner is the favorite because I think there are less people in the draw that can beat Sinner. I think there’s a few more players that believe they have a chance against Carlos Alcaraz on a fast court with really fast conditions because of the temperatures in Australia. So I think Jannik Sinner will get to the round when he has to play Carlos Alcaraz, which obviously is the finals. I’m less sure that Carlos Alcaraz will get all the way to the finals.
Alcaraz will be without his long-term coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, following their split in December. The 22-year-old has never won a Grand Slam title without the former French Open champion. He will have to chart a new course without the Spaniard, working alongside coach Samuel Lopez at the tournament.
Mats Wilander hopes to see Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner rivarly continue
For the past two seasons, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have dominated the men’s circuit. The duo have won the last eight Grand Slams and have met each other in the last three major tournament finals. Meanwhile, Alcaraz leads their head-to-head record on tour 10-6, having won four of their last six meetings.
The duo will be eager to continue with their rivalry and dominance on tour in 2026. During the aforementioned conversation, Mats Wilander noted that he would love to see how Alcaraz and Sinner continue to raise their performance levels this year. He added that he never believed there would be an era like this after the Big 3:
I’m looking forward to the dominance of Sinner and Alcaraz, to be honest. It’s hard to believe that in today’s world of professional sports that you can be that dominant. It’s hard to believe after having three best players of all time together [Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic], that suddenly we have two guys that are most probably going to become two of the best players of all time.
Alcaraz and Sinner have been training hard at the Australian Open after being among the early birds at the event. They will be eager to kick off their 2026 campaign with a good win and then build on it as the tournament progresses.
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