Carlos Alcaraz ‘sure’ he will win the Australian Open ‘sooner or later’
Carlos Alcaraz has claimed that he will complete the Career Grand Slam ‘sooner or later’, with the Spaniard also appointing a new coach to support Juan Carlos Ferrero.
Alcaraz has won four Grand Slam titles in his young career so far, with one Roland Garros trophy (2024), two Wimbledon victories (2023 and 2024), and his maiden major title at the US Open (2022).
However, the Murcian is yet to crack the Australian Open, with a best result of reaching the quarter-finals in his three appearances.
When speaking to press ahead of his exhibition with Ben Shelton at Madison Square Gardens, Alcaraz appeared confident that he would become the ninth man in history to complete the Career Grand Slam.
“I am sure that I will be champion of Australia sooner or later. Let’s hope it is this year (2025),” claimed Alcaraz. “For me, it is very important to complete the remaining Slams.”
Alcaraz beat Shelton in that aforementioned exhibition, 4-6 6-2 [7-4], as he looks to build-up to the 2025 season.
The showman shows out in New York. 🕺
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Shelton 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 to capture #TheGardenCup! pic.twitter.com/1VCJBTlUya
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) December 5, 2024
And the 21-year-old has already added to his team, after announcing that Samuel Lopez would be his secondary coach.
Lopez had worked with fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta for nine years, before they recently announced that their long-term partnership would be coming to an end.
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It will not be the first time that Alcaraz and Lopez have worked together, after joining forces at this year’s Australian Open while head coach Ferrero was recovering from a knee operation.
Lopez is set to join the World No.3’s team after the Australian Open for the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam, with Alcaraz explaining why he chose to make this move.
“I think Samuel, for me, is one of the best coaches that we have on Tour,” said Alcaraz. “They (Ferrero and Lopez) trust each other 100 per cent and being able to travel with both, for me, it’s going to be great.
“I think I’m going to grow as a player thanks to them. I think we are going to work pretty hard and pretty good for the next season and the next years. Hopefully we are going to make good results together.”
Alcaraz is set to go straight into the Australian Open next year, electing not to play any lead-up events down under for a second consecutive season.
Inside the baseline…
Carlos Alcaraz seems very confident that he will complete the Career Grand Slam, and it is hard to disagree with him. It almost seems inevitable that Alcaraz will conquer the Australian Open, and potentially on multiple occasions. However, it is interesting that he appears to not want to play any warm-up events for the Melbourne major, as he did the same earlier this year and it did not really pay off with a disappointing quarter-final defeat to Alexander Zverev.
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