Carlos Alcaraz is currently preparing for another season on the ATP Tour, which he will start at the 2026 Australian Open.
Alcaraz is “fired up” for the Australian Open, a tournament that the six-time Grand Slam champion has yet to win.
He has started 2026 in fine fashion, although confidence is perhaps the only thing Alcaraz can take from his exhibition win over Jannik Sinner.
Undoubtedly Alcaraz’s main rival on the ATP Tour, Sinner enters the Australian Open as the two-time defending champion.
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Holger Rune analyses Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘really good’ serve
One player who won’t be taking part in the Grand Slam is Holger Rune, who is currently recovering from Achilles surgery.
Amid his rehabilitation, the world number 16 has joined Andy Roddick on his Served podcast, where Rune said of Alcaraz: “He makes incredible shots here and there, but it’s not what wins him the matches.
“I think what wins him the matches is for sure his tennis, but he has an amazing attitude on the court. His attitude, his energy, you feel it. You feel the Vamos!
“I know that he’s disciplined and been taught to behave like this, because when he was a junior, he was sometimes all over the place, many juniors were, I was also sometimes.
“But his attitude is very intimidating, in a good way, in a respectful way. He’s always on, you can see in his eyes.
“When you look more into his game, the shot that not many people think about, is his serve. His serve is really good because it has so much rotation on it, it’s tough.
“I remember when I played him in Paris, indoors, he was just serving second serve to my backhand, I loved it, smacked it every time to rush him.
“Then I played him at Wimbledon, the second time. He was mixing the serve up so much, sometimes first serve as a second serve, spin on the body, then sometimes second serve a bit faster, he made it really uncomfortable that way.
“This sets him up so well for the second shot, and he has a great forehand to follow up with, and you don’t know if it’s going to be a dropshot, slice forehand, or a winner, so you’re thinking if you should stay in, or move back.
“Obviously, when I had two legs, I was quite fast so I could reach a lot of the dropshots, but you need to be really fast!
“It can be frustrating because he has so much power, and sometimes you feel like I need to play better than him to beat him.
“I thought that, but sometimes, less is more. When I played him in Barcelona this year, I got down a break 3-2, and I started playing much more conservative, much more boring.
“Took the pace off, tried to play within my pace, and tried to get him into my rhythm, I broke him back immediately. Then you see some strange errors from his side.
“But there’s no one who is unbeatable for me, I think everyone can beat everyone. If you find the right way, it’s possible to beat anyone.
“I think there, I cracked the tactic, and then he got a little hurt in the second set, so it was a little different. An incredible season that he had.”
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Holger Rune boasts impressive H2H against Carlos Alcaraz
Rune is in a unique position with Alcaraz, in that he is one of the few players who have managed to take something from the Spaniard.
The pair have met four times on the ATP Tour so far, with the Dane winning two and losing two of those matches.
Even then, Alcaraz’s first victory arrived in the group stages of the 2021 NextGen ATP Finals, when he went on to lift the trophy.
| Year | Winner | Tournament | Round | Surface | Score |
| 2025 | Holger Rune | Barcelona | Final | Outdoor Clay | 76(6) 62 |
| 2023 | Carlos Alcaraz | Wimbledon | Quarterfinal | Outdoor Grass | 76(3) 64 64 |
| 2022 | Holger Rune | ATP Masters 1000 Paris | Quarterfinal | Indoor Hard | 63 66 RET |
| 2021 | Carlos Alcaraz | Next Gen ATP Finals | Round Robin | Indoor Hard | 43(6) 42 40 |
The Denmark ace won their only meeting of the 2025 season, when Rune beat Alcaraz 7-6(8-6), 6-2 in the final of the Barcelona Open.
The title represents one of five for Rune in his exciting career so far, although it will be some time before he returns to competitive action.
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