Carlos Alcaraz is chasing history at Australian Open 2025.
At the age of 21 years and 266 days on Sunday 26 January 2025 – the date of the men’s singles final – Alcaraz, should he be featuring in the showcase match, will be aiming to become the youngest male player of all time to achieve the career Grand Slam.
MORE: All the results from AO 2025
Only five other men have won the career Slam – Rod Laver (aged 31 years, 18 days), Andre Agassi (aged 29 years, 25 days), Novak Djokovic (aged 29 years, one day), Roger Federer (aged 27 years, 290 days) and Rafael Nadal (aged 24 years, 88 days).
Should Alcaraz go all the way in Melbourne, he would smash Nadal’s record for the youngest man to win the career Slam. Even if he were to fall short at AO 2025, Alcaraz would still have another two shots at the record, should he compete.
Of the six women who have won all four majors, only Steffi Graf (aged 19 years, 76 days) and Serena Williams (aged 21 years, 109 days) have done so when younger than Alcaraz.
Williams and Chris Evert are the only players, male or female, to have sealed the Career slam by claiming an AO crown.
But for all of Alcaraz’s success, he has never quite been able to get it going at the AO.
His best finish at Melbourne Park has been a run to the quarterfinals last year, when he was downed by Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard missed AO 2023 through injury, was knocked out in the third and second rounds in the two seasons before that.
Indeed, Alcaraz’s 10-3 AO win-loss record gives him a 76.9% win percentage. Hardly bad, but it is shy of the standards Alcaraz has set at the other majors.
Alcaraz's Grand Slam Record | Win-Loss | Win Percentage |
| Australian Open | 10-3 | 76.9 |
| Roland Garros | 18-3 | 85.7 |
| Wimbledon | 18-2 | 90 |
| US Open | 17-3 | 85 |
But something feels different this time.
Alcaraz is pumped up and playing some sensational tennis.
Alexander Shevchenko and Yoshihito Nishioka offered little resistance in the Spaniard's opening matches, which he breezed through in straight sets and needed just one hour 54 minutes and one hour 21 minutes to see each of them off respectively.
The third seed faced a sterner challenge from Nuno Borges in the third round but prevailed 6-2 6-4 6-7(3) 6-2 while playing some remarkable shots.
One that will live long in the memory was a brilliant backhand on the turn – Borges stretched to meet it, but Alcaraz simply generated too much power. In celebration, the youngster stood stock still, racquet at his feet, pointed to his head and took the adulation of an adoring crowd.
Alcaraz has still not lost a Grand Slam match in which he has held a two-shot lead, and it was his 63rd Grand Slam win. Since he made his major bow in 2021, only Djokovic (84) and Daniil Medvedev (64) have won more.
Only three men in the Open era have won more Grand Slam hard court matches than Alcaraz (27) before turning 22: Djokovic (29), Pete Sampras, Lleyton Hewitt (28 each). With his second-round win at AO 2025, the world number three matched Marat Safin and surpassed Nadal and Andy Roddick (25).
With his defeat of Borges, Alcaraz became the fourth man in the Open era to win 10 singles matches at each of the four Slams before turning 22, after Djokovic, Nadal and Mats Wilander.
Alcaraz has now reached the last 16 of a major on 11 occasions, matching Nadal’s tally before the 22-time Slam champion had turned 22. In fact, only three players in the Open era have made that stage of a major more times prior to turning 22 – Wilander (13), Bjorn Borg (14) and Boris Becker (15).
Jack Draper, who has had to come through three matches that have gone the distance, is next up. Alcaraz lost to the Brit in their last meeting, at Queen’s last year, but has won their previous two encounters.
Alcaraz will surely have the edge in terms of freshness, and surely some history-making feats provide any extra motivation he may need.