Carlos Alcaraz thriving on Jannik Sinner rivalry heading into Australian Open

MELBOURNE – Carlos Alcaraz said on Jan 11 that his burgeoning rivalry with Jannik Sinner brought out the best in him, with the Spanish star driven by winning more Grand Slam titles and toppling the Italian as world No. 1.

The 21-year-old clinched both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in 2024 and is preparing to take Melbourne Park by storm and lift the Australian Open to complete a career Grand Slam of all four Majors.

With the retirements of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic in his twilight years, world No. 3 Alcaraz’s rivalry with the 23-year-old Sinner has taken over at the summit of the game.

“When I’m facing him, I just know that I have to play my best if I want to win. That’s it. Probably if I have a bad day against Jannik, it’s 99 per cent that you’re going to lose,” said the Spaniard.

“That’s what is in my mind every time that I’m going to play against him.

“The good thing for me is when I’m seeing him winning titles, when I’m seeing him in the top of the ranking, it forces me to practise even harder every day,” he added.

“In the practice, I’m just thinking the things that I have to improve to play against him. That I think is great for me, having him, have such a great rivalry so far, just to give the best of me every day.”

Despite Alcaraz and Sinner becoming the Grand Slam kings by sharing the four Major titles in 2024, the Italian raced away as world No. 1 due to his greater consistency through the season.

Alcaraz has tweaked his serve, and has a lighter racket, in a bid to up his game in 2024, knowing he needs to play better for longer.

“After the US Open, for me, is kind of difficult to stay at a high level. I mean, is kind of when I’m tired, I’ve played a lot of tournaments, a lot of time outside home,” he said.

“So, for me, is difficult, that part of the year. Last year I did much better than 2023. So hopefully this year is going to be better.”

While ousting Sinner as top dog remains a key goal, winning more Slams is his focus.

“For me the goal is try to win Grand Slams, Masters 1000s. That’s for me the most important tournaments of the world,” he said.

“Obviously the ranking is up there in the goals, as well, trying to get as close as I can to Jannik or try to pass (world No. 2 Alexander) Zverev as well.

“But mainly for me, it is Grand Slams, try to win as many Grand Slams as I can. That’s my main goal.”

Sinner admitted on Jan 10 that his doping scandal continues to play on his mind. On the same day, the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced that his hearing will take place on April 16 and 17.

The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed, as the International Tennis Integrity Agency cleared Sinner after he tested positive twice for the banned steroid clostebol last March.

The ITIA had accepted the Italian’s explanation that the drug entered his system when his physio used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.

Djokovic on Dec 29 called for more transparency around doping suspensions in tennis, saying high-ranked players appeared to be treated differently from others.

On the court, the world No. 7 will hope to add to his record 10 Australian Open titles. In 2024, he won Olympic gold but failed to collect a Major for the first time since 2017, leaving his bid to better Margaret Court’s all-time 24 Slam mark unfulfilled.

Beaten in the Melbourne semi-finals by Sinner in 2024, he has enlisted the help of long-time rival Andy Murray as coach to try and help him achieve the feat.

Should he do so, it will be his 100th career title, making him just the third man in the Open era to reach the milestone, behind Jimmy Connors (109) and Roger Federer (103).

Also a threat in Melbourne is Zverev.

The German has been pursuing a Grand Slam breakthrough for more than half a decade, finishing runner-up at the French Open in 2024 and the US Open in 2020 but unable to take the final step.

But the 27-year-old heads into the new season with renewed vigour after ending 2024 as world No. 2, winning more matches than anyone bar Sinner. AFP, REUTERS