Roger Federer has revealed who he wants to win the Australian Open with play set to start at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
World number two Jannik Sinner is bidding to win his third successive Australian Open men’s singles title and his fifth Grand Slam overall.
His biggest rival for the title looks set to be world number one and six-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz and Sinner are promising to form one of the all-time great tennis rivalries, having shared all eight of the last Grand Slams and facing off in some memorable finals.
Other contenders for the Australian Open title include 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic, although he has not added to his record-breaking tally since 2023 and looks increasingly unthreatening against his younger rivals.
An Alcaraz win in Melbourne would see the Spaniard secure the career Grand Slam at the age of just 22, with two quarter-final appearances his best result so far in Australia.
‘It’s like Rory [McIlroy] going for the Masters, those things are tough,’ Federer said at a press conference at Melbourne Park ahead of the Australian Open.
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‘But at the end of the day the momentum shifts towards the first round, and then it’s point for point mentality… But it’s true, at his young age to be able to complete the career Grand Slam already now, I mean would be crazy.
‘So let’s see, if he is able to do crazy this week, I hope he does for the game, it would be an unbelievably special moment. But he has a hundred players who say, “We don’t agree with those plans”.
‘The rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner I think is a great one, I mean they play incredible tennis.
‘I think that French Open final was unreal, I think the game, not that it needed it, but it was great that we had it.
‘I feel like for a second, for a moment, the world stood still and watched towards Paris, what was going on in that epic fifth set because it could have ended much, much sooner obviously for Jannik.
‘Then all of a sudden it ended up in this most crazy fashion. Maybe one of the greatest games we’ve ever had in our sport.
‘It’s good we still live off that momentum. Then they backed it up by playing against each other in all those other finals.’
Sinner and Djokovic are in the same half of the draw in Melbourne, while Alexander Zverev is the top-ranked player in Alcaraz’s half.
Sinner begins the defend of his Australian Open title with a first-round match against French World No. 900 Hugo Gaston.
Alcaraz faces local favourite Adam Walton while Djokovic takes on Pedro Martinez.
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