Just over fifteen years since a 24-year-old Rafael Nadal claimed an elusive US Open crown to become the youngest man ever to complete the Career Grand Slam, another Spaniard has come along to shatter his record.
Carlos Alcaraz’s triumph over Novak Djokovic in the 2026 Australian Open final saw him secure the seventh major of his young career, and the count will almost certainly not stop here.
The Spaniard, still just 22 years of age, has already matched the major tallies of John McEnroe and Mats Wilander, and he is now just one Grand Slam victory shy of Andre Agassi’s total.
Will Carlos Alcaraz win the Calendar Slam in 2026?
If not, which Grand Slam is he going to fail to win?
There were plenty of question marks around Alcaraz following his shock split with Juan Carlos Ferrero in the off-season, with many wondering whether the decision would derail his pursuit of big titles in 2026.
Those concerns were made to look incredibly silly.
Alcaraz was completely untroubled for the majority of his campaign Down Under, with precisely zero sets dropped en route to the semifinals.
But for a brief moment in his final-four clash with world number three Alexander Zverev, it seemed as though the eventual champion was surely on his way out.
Alexander Zverev has a big reason to be hopeful in 2026
Following Zverev’s largely disappointing 2025 season, the German’s name was not really on any fans’ mind when predicting who would go all the way at Melbourne Park this year.
Indeed, reservations about his chances at the Australian Open appeared to be vindicated early on in his run, when Zverev dropped sets to Gabriel Diallo and Alexandre Muller in rounds one and two, while Alcaraz, Djokovic and Jannik Sinner were tearing through their respective quarters of the draw.
The 28-year-old grew into the tournament, however, and picked up an impressive win over Britain’s Cam Norrie before clinching his first straight-sets win of the tournament over Francisco Cerundolo, a man who had his number for a while at ATP Tour-level events.
After knocking out America’s most promising young talent in men’s tennis, Learner Tien, Zverev was faced with the biggest challenge in the sport currently: Escape from Alcaraz.
And their battle was going exactly how many had foreseen for the first two sets, with Alcaraz leading 6-4, 7-6 to go within six games of a maiden Australian Open final appearance.
Zverev, perhaps spurred on by Alcaraz’s physical troubles in set three, remarkably fought his way back into the contest to force a decider, where he secured a break of serve to really put the pressure on his opponent.
Having stayed a break ahead throughout the fifth set, he had the chance to serve out for the match at 5-4, but ultimately, a defiant Alcaraz, with history on the line, simply refused to lose and handed Zverev yet another near miss at a Grand Slam.
Has Alexander Zverev just blown his last chance to win a Grand Slam?
But after watching what transpired between Alcaraz and Djokovic in the championship match that he came so close to appearing in, Zverev has to be delighted with himself and hopeful of his chances to win his first major.
Djokovic, who knocked out heavy favourite Sinner to book his place in the final, enjoyed a strong start against Alcaraz, but he did not trouble the young star anywhere near as much as Zverev did.
As the ‘new two’ continue to get better through the years, it will become increasingly difficult for Zverev to get his hands on a Grand Slam trophy, but with his performance in Australia, he has shown it is not a certainty that he will go down as the greatest player ever to win a major.
Alexander Zverev appears to have fixed his big issue from last year
Probably the biggest obstacle Zverev had to overcome last year was the mental battle, which was evident after his early exit at the 2025 Wimbledon championships.
In his post-match press conference following a first-round defeat to Arthur Rinderknech at the All England Club, Zverev spoke candidly about his struggles, stating: “I’ve never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do.”
He may not be leaving Australia with a trophy, but Zverev did not seem to be lacking joy at the first major of the year.
The talent and on-court capability has never been an issue for Zverev, as on his day, he can beat practically anyone in the world
Like any athlete, the right mindset is what Zverev needs in order to perform at the highest level.
Should he continue to enter tournaments with a clear headspace, it may not be too much longer before we finally see Zverev hold a Grand Slam trophy aloft.
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