Carlos Alcaraz has more Grand Slam success on his mind as he prepares to try and achieve the career Grand Slam in Melbourne.
Alcaraz has already won four Grand Slam titles which have included two Wimbledon titles as he is the youngest player to win Grand Slams on all three surfaces.
However the one Grand Slam that is still missing from his collection is the Australian Open having lost at the quarter-final stage last year.
Now Alcaraz is ready to complete the Grand Slam mission in Melbourne this year, “For me the goal is try to win Grand Slams, Masters 1000s. Those for me [are] the most important tournaments of the world,” the Spaniard told the ATP website.
“Obviously the ranking is up there in the goals, as well, trying to get as close as I can to Jannik [Sinner] or try to pass [Alexander] Zverev as well. The ranking is there. But mainly [the] thing for me is Grand Slams, trying to win as many Grand Slams as I can.”
As mentioned in his quote the main rival for Alcaraz is world number one and defending champion Jannik Sinner.
The Italian won both hard court Grand Slams last year and has proven that he is the best player in the world on multiple occasions.
An incredible rivalry has formed between the duo with Alcaraz winning six of their last ten meetings and the Spaniard admitted he has to have a different mindset when playing Sinner, “When I’m playing against him, I have [a] different mindset, a little bit,” Alcaraz was quoted by the ATP website as saying in his pre-tournament press conference.
“When you’re facing the best players or the best player in the world, you have to do something different, different preparation, or different mindset. 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. 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 rankings, [it] forces me to practise even harder every day. 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.”
Before Alcaraz can think about Sinner, the Spaniard has to concentrate on his own draw which includes a potential quarter-final against Novak Djokovic and a potential semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
First up though is Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko, which takes place as the first night session match on Margaret Court Arena on Monday.
