Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are currently preparing for another Australian Open, a tournament at which they have experienced contrasting fates.
Sinner has won the Australian Open twice in his career so far, with those titles arriving in the past two seasons.
But Alcaraz has never made it beyond the quarterfinals of the hard court Grand Slam, with those runs also coming in the past two seasons.
In fact, the Australian Open is the only tournament the ATP number one has yet to win, having won each of the other three events twice.
Who will win the 2026 Australian Open?
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz to play in Australian Open Opening Week
The main draw action gets underway later this month, but both Sinner and Alcaraz will take to the court in Melbourne before then.
As part of Opening Week, several ATP and WTA stars will go face-to-face, with Qinwen Zheng meeting Elena Rybakina early on.
Also early is Alexander Zverev versus Lorenzo Musetti, with Elina Svitolina then taking on Amanda Anisimova.
Alcaraz will meet home favorite Alex de Minaur later in the week, followed by Sinner playing against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Can Novak Djokovic challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open?
The champion of the exciting clashes won’t be of much importance to Sinner and Alcaraz, but it does represent a great chance for both to gauge their fitness levels.
It is never easy returning to such high-level tennis after the offseason, particularly with their lack of action on the court.
The duo have been absent at the very start of 2026, while many of their rivals are involved in the likes of the United Cup and Brisbane International.
However, having been scheduled to play at the latter, Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Brisbane International, which may prove to be a fantastic decision.
Who is your dark horse for the 2026 Australian Open?
Despite being 38 years old, he is undoubtedly one of the main rivals to Sinner and Alcaraz, particularly at the Australian Open.
His 10 titles are more than any other player, with Djokovic’s Brisbane absence arguably a blessing in disguise as he chases Grand Slam history.
The event would have provided him with a fine chance to practice, but at the same time he doesn’t need any overexertion, particularly at the beginning of the season.
A fully fresh and totally rested Djokovic likely has the best chance of success as opposed to any other version of the Serbian, although even then Sinner and Alcaraz will undoubtedly be very hard to beat.
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