Alcaraz staring at Grand Slam final frontier, Gauff in superb form | SOUNDBITES

There is little doubt Carlos Alcaraz is one of the brightest stars of his generation with Grand Slam success on all three surfaces but the Spaniard will arrive at the Australian Open looking to conquer the final frontier of his young career.

Should he lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup at Melbourne Park later this month, the 21-year-old French Open and Wimbledon champion will become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam - the feat of winning all four major titles.

Victory would put the 2022 U.S. Open champion in the elite company of Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, cementing his status as a modern great.

Alcaraz has not gone beyond the quarter-finals in his three previous visits to Melbourne, but that has not stopped the world number three from dreaming of glory in the January 12-26 event.

Coco Gauff, meanwhile, will begin her Australian Open campaign on a high after riding a roller-coaster 2024 to claim her maiden WTA Finals title and deliver the United Cup to the Americans in pristine form.

It has been a remarkable turnaround for the 20-year-old, who only a few months ago appeared to be in a tailspin. She exited early from Toronto and Cincinnati and her New York title defence ended in the fourth round with a staggering 19 double faults.

But she flipped the script only weeks later, parting ways with coach Brad Gilbert before beating U.S. Open semi-finalist Karolina Muchova to win the China Open in October, as she told reporters she had changed her mindset.

That cool calm was on display at November's WTA Finals, where she overcame her key antagonist Iga Swiatek - with the Pole having triumphed in all but one of their 12 prior meetings - and the world number one Aryna Sabalenka en route to the final.

Gauff showed no sign of letting off the gas in the New Year, as she skipped Auckland - a tournament she won twice before - to kick off her season at the United Cup, reasoning that the team event offered a higher level of competition.

She got just that, as she faced Swiatek again in a highly anticipated final showdown on Sunday (January 5) and rose to the occasion, winning in straight sets. She told reporters in Sydney that it was one of the best performances of her career.

With eight of her nine career singles titles coming on the hard court and momentum on her side, her U.S. fans will expect nothing but her best in Melbourne Park after she reached the semi-final stage a year ago.

(Production: Conal Quinn)

Subscribe to ABS-CBN Sports channel! - http://bit.ly/ABSCBNSports

Visit our website at http://sports.abs-cbn.com
Facebook:   / abscbnsports  
Twitter:   / abscbnsports  
Instagram:   / abscbnsports  

#CarlosAlcaraz
#SOUNDBITES
#ABSCBNSports