By Ian Ransom
MELBOURNE, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Defending champion Jannik Sinner is the bookmakers' favourite to win a third successive Australian Open crown as another title showdown looms with world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
The "Sincaraz" duopoly swept all four Grand Slam titles in 2025 and their dominance is expected to continue at Melbourne Park where few in the men's draw appear equipped to challenge, let alone beat them.
A Sinner victory would mean a fifth Grand Slam title for the 24-year-old Italian
and make him the first to lift the Australian Open trophy three years running since Novak Djokovic in 2019-21.
For 22-year-old Alcaraz, a first Australian Open triumph would mean a seventh major trophy and the distinction of being the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam, eclipsing Don Budge's long-standing record.
Sinner and Alcaraz have operated in a different stratosphere to hog the sport's biggest trophies, and even their travel arrangements to Melbourne were a class apart.
As lower-ranked players toiled through stifling heat at warm-up tournaments in Australia, the duo flew in on a private jet from a no-pressure exhibition match in Seoul, arriving fresh and unruffled for the tournament starting on Sunday.
While Alcaraz finished a career-best season in 2025 with the world's top ranking, Sinner capped his own terrific year by successfully defending his ATP Finals title, beating the Spaniard in the decider in front of adoring home fans in Turin.
The Italian, who faces France's Hugo Gaston in the first round, has worked to add greater unpredictability, particularly on serve, into his game to keep pace with Alcaraz, the sport's most explosive talent.
Alcaraz is determined to hit back in Melbourne, though, saying he would rather hoist the trophy than claim back-to-back titles at the U.S. and French Open this year.
Though dominant elsewhere, Australia has never seen Alcaraz in full flight, with quarter-final exits in the past two seasons his best results.
This year he arrives following a surprise split with long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who guided him from prodigy to multiple major champion.
Whether Alcaraz, who meets Australian battler Adam Walton in the first round, can continue to thrive without Ferrero will be one of the tournament's major plotlines.
Beyond the two young standard-bearers, Djokovic may still be their greatest threat -- even at 38. The Serb is chasing a record-extending 11th Australian Open title and a record 25th Grand Slam title overall to move one clear of Margaret Court on the all-time list.
Djokovic upset Alcaraz in last year's quarter-finals but retired injured in the semi-finals against Alexander Zverev.
While Djokovic's mental toughness is without question, the physical wear of a 20-year career is increasingly hard to ignore.
After losing to Alcaraz at the U.S. Open semi-finals, he conceded beating Sinner and Alcaraz may be too hard in best-of-five-set matches at Grand Slams.
Further back, the gap between the top two and the chasing pack appears stark. World number three Zverev reached last year's final only to be overwhelmed by Sinner and ended 2025 with just one title.
Daniil Medvedev, a three-time Australian Open finalist, arrives outside the top 10 but buoyed by early-season form after winning in Brisbane.
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime has shown improvement and unseeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz is in encouraging form after a comeback from a long injury layoff.
But breaking the Sinner-Alcaraz stronghold may be beyond all of them.
If Sinner succeeds, his Australian Open dominance will be reminiscent of Djokovic's dynasty. If Alcaraz breaks through, he will conquer his final frontier and open the door to a calendar Grand Slam.
Either way, the men's draw points to the same destination: a new chapter in the Sincaraz era.
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by Toby Davis)
