Carlos Alcaraz will officially play in his first Australian Open semifinal on Friday en route to his goal of becoming the youngest men’s player to complete his career grand slam. The 22-year-old just needs an Australian Open title to achieve the lofty task.
Alcaraz has yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament as he seemingly is bringing the dominance he had during the 2025 season over to this year. However, Alcaraz admitted on Tuesday after his quarterfinal win over Alex de Minaur that he still sees his 2025 U.S. Open performance as the one to beat for him personally.
“I don’t know,” Alcaraz said when asked to compare his performance at the Australian Open to last year’s U.S. Open. “I would say the level of U.S. Open is higher than the level I’m playing right now, but it’s pretty close. We can discuss. I let the people talk about it and say which level is the best, if the U.S. Open or this one. I would say with the level I was serving and the way I was doing everything at the U.S. Open, for me it was unmatchable I guess. Just happy and proud of how I’m playing here.”
Carlos Alcaraz says he was playing at a higher level at the U.S. Open than he’s currently playing at the Australian Open, but it’s close
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 27, 2026
“You were asked about your level now compared to the U.S. Open.. I’m just wondering another round in, where do you see that comparison now?”… pic.twitter.com/0nNZ9lzESE
Alcaraz notably beat Jannik Sinner in the U.S. Open final last September to capture his sixth major title and second at the American tournament. He played Sinner in three major finals last year (all but the Australian Open) and won the French Open and U.S. Open titles.
The Spaniard is two wins away from making incredible tennis history. It sounds like he has the confidence in himself to do it, as long as he keeps playing with the dominance he’s shown thus far. We’ll see come Sunday if Alcaraz etches his name in the tennis history books again.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Carlos Alcaraz Says His U.S. Open Performance Was ‘Unmatchable’ to Australian Open.
