Carlos Alcaraz is up and running in Australia, having defeated Australia’s Adam Walton 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-2 in the first night session of the 2026 Australian Open.
Alcaraz is aiming to become just the sixth man – and youngest – in the Open Era to win all four major titles at least once. Iga Swiatek is also bidding for the Career Slam on the women’s side, she’ll take the court in tonight’s night session in Rod Laver Arena against China’s Yuan Yue.
Alcaraz improves to 12-4 at the Australian Open, he was defeated by Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals last year (his best result to date at the event). He is making his fifth appearance in Melbourne, and his 20th Grand Slam appearance overall.
He faced a hungry competitor and had to battle to get through in straight sets.
“Overall just happy,” he said. “To be honest, I was ready for a good battle. At the same time a little bit unexpected for me the level he played. I had to manage myself to be ready for that battle. Just happy with the level of the first match of the season.”
Alcaraz will face Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann in the second round.
If he can claim the title in two weeks, Alcaraz would become the 9th player in history (and 6th player in the Open Era) to complete the career Grand Slam in men’s singles. Rafael Nadal is the youngest player to achieve the feat in the Open Era, having completed the career Grand Slam at the 2010 US Open aged 24 years 32 days.