Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam. Is the calendar slam next?
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz sent Novak Djokovic through the net while Rafael Nadal watched from above at Rod Laver Arena.
His inspiration, his idol.
Alcaraz had such visions as a kid — not that long ago, in the scheme of things — so now is the perfect time to show them what he learned from watching these two all-time greats play, or borrow from their auras.
He came back to defeat Djokovic in four sets and become the youngest person to complete a career Grand Slam – meaning he has won all four tennis Grand Slams – in Sunday’s Australian Open final.
At 22 and 272 days respectively, he was significantly younger than Nadal (24) and Djokovic (29) when they achieved the milestone, lowering the record set by Don Bache in 1938 when he was days away from his 23rd birthday.
He had just completed a career Grand Slam – adding to his first Australian victory with two wins each at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open – when the question of competing in a calendar Grand Slam was raised. Winning all four Grand Slam titles in one season is something no one has achieved since Rod Laver in 1969.
“To be honest, these are big words,” said Alcaraz, the two-time defending French Open champion. “You know, I just want to take it one step at a time. Now the next one is the French Open. I have great memories from that tournament. I feel special every time I go there.
“I don’t want to put myself in a very stressful position, but you know, it’s going to be great. Now I’m going to try to be ready … to have a good match at the next major.”
After Djokovic opened the set a little later, Alcaraz took a page out of the legend’s book and changed the tempo of the match, disrupting the flow of the match. It works. He is now the only man to win seven Grand Slam titles before his 23rd birthday.
Since Djokovic won the last of 24 major titles at the 2023 U.S. Open, Alcaraz and Yannik Sinner have dominated the majors, with one of them winning the last nine titles.
Sinner was aiming for a third consecutive title in Australia but lost in five sets to 10-time Australian champion Djokovic in the semi-finals.
Alcaraz and long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero parted ways when the young Spaniard won the last U.S. Open, with many questioning the decision and wondering whether he was ready to win his first title in Australia.
Samuel Lopez has stepped up to lead the team, and Alcaraz admitted the preseason has been “an emotional rollercoaster for me.”
“A lot of people have doubts about my level of play in this game,” he said. “Every year I come to Australia I’m thinking about getting the trophy (but) only getting to the quarter-finals.”
He said he arrived at Melbourne Park in 2026 “hungry for more, ambitious to win trophies and mentally strong enough not to hear a word from any of his critics”.
“Playing good tennis in this tournament means a lot, it means the world to me,” he said. “This is a dream come true for me.”
With Djokovic’s latest bid for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title stymied, he can at least joke about the 16-year age gap between himself and Alcaraz.
“Well, the first time I played against him, he was, what, 11 or 12 years old?” he said with a smile. “No, I think he was only 18 or 19. You could already see he was destined for great things.
“He’s improved physically, mentally and in his game. I mean, he’s constantly looking to innovate himself and his game, and that’s the kind of mentality a champion needs to develop.”
When asked about Alcaraz’s potential to join the ranks of the sport’s greats, Djokovic said the career Grand Slam “validates his already illustrious career.”
“Of course, he is already a legendary tennis player and has left a huge mark on tennis history,” he added. “For him, anything was possible, there was no doubt about it.”
