Carlos Alcaraz is on track to complete the Career Grand Slam in record time, just one Australian Open away from ultimate glory.
And, given his current title-winning form throughout 2025, it would be unwise to bet against him.
The Spaniard has been supreme ever since leaving Melbourne at the start of the year, having reached nine finals and winning seven of them, two of which were majors.
He successfully defended his Roland Garros crown, and after being dethroned at Wimbledon, enacted his revenge at the US Open by beating Jannik Sinner in the final there.
Carlos Alcaraz’s hard-court acumen has once again been proven, and he will return to Australia brimming with confidence.
It almost seems ludicrous to think that John McEnroe was worried for Alcaraz at the start of 2025.
However, he can certainly learn a thing or two from Pete Sampras on how not to try to achieve the Career Slam.
What Pete Sampras said about failing to complete his Career Slam
After all, the legendary American, who won 14 Grand Slam titles across his illustrious career, famously failed to claim the French Open.
It was the crucial trophy that eluded him, and he has spoken openly about how and why he continually stumbled at this Parisian hurdle.
“I have a pretty high bar,” he once stated. “You want to live up to that every time you play, and in that way, it hurts when you miss the target.”
“It made the French thing stand out that much more that I hadn’t won it, I put that much more focus on it. So, in a way, that’s why it’s hurt me. When you put that much in, it’s hard to get over it. All the sacrifice, all the training, and to get nothing out of it.”
Even the year before these claims, and just two years before he would retire, Sampras admitted: “The last couple of years, I put entirely too much pressure on myself to win the French, too much self-inflicted pressure.”
This is a crucial trap that Alcaraz must ensure he avoids.
Carlos Alcaraz needs to reduce pressure on winning the Australian Open
Whilst Alcaraz is blessed to have so much time on his hands, the longer he stumbles in Melbourne, the greater the external pressure will be.
Even if he fails to win it in the coming January, the expectation will be extraordinary, and the ensuing reaction surely be overwhelming.
Fortunately, the 22-year-old seems to have a great support system around him and has one important trait that Sampras clearly lacked: the ability to thrive on any surface.
| Carlos Alcaraz | Pete Sampras | |
| Hard Court titles (finals) | 8 (1) | 35 (12) |
| Clay Court titles (finals) | 11 (5) | 3 (2) |
Having just won his second US Open title, Alcaraz has added to his already-sprawling collection of hard-court triumphs.
And whilst the conditions are obviously different down under, the Australian Open surface remains largely the same.
Sampras, meanwhile, reached just a single French Open semi-final across his entire career.
If Alcaraz can learn anything from Sampras, this failure, and the Career Slam-related warnings he left behind as his playing days dwindled, should teach him so much about how to approach trying to tackle this legendary achievement.
