Carlos Alcaraz used media day at the 2026 Australian Open to talk about a small but notable modification to his serve and to frame it as part of an ongoing process of refinement.

The world No. 1, in his first major outing since his split from coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, smiled when asked about the new motion.

“You wanted to say it’s really similar to Djokovic serve?” he joked. “I know you want to!”

Practice footage circulated before the tournament made the similarity obvious to observers. Alcaraz said the likeness was coincidental and emphasized that the adjustment is one of many tiny changes he makes to his game.

“I think everyone has to make changes, small details,” Alcaraz explained on Friday. “For me the serve is something that I really want to be better every year, in every tournament. I just putting constant work on the serve.

“I would say, like, for myself, I’m just making changes all the time, every tournament, every day, without someone has to tell me. Like, for example, I just changing the movement a little bit. Now with this movement on the serve, I just feel really, really comfortable, smooth, really calm and peaceful rhythm, which I think it helps me a lot to do a better serve.”

Alcaraz acknowledged that service had long been a relative weakness and noted the tangible gains from earlier tweaks. At the 2025 US Open he struck 10 aces and won over 80% of first serve points as he dethroned Jannik Sinner on hard courts last summer. He said further alterations remain possible.

“Let’s see how it’s going to be this year. Probably you’re going to see another change, I don’t know if the next months or at the end of the year. I just make constant changes in every shot. It’s just about really small details.”

Off court, the Spaniard has kept much of his routine under current head coach Marc Lopez as he pursues a Career Grand Slam. The six-time major champion acknowledged the goal and its magnitude.

“Obviously complete the career Grand Slam is something amazing to do, be able to be the youngest that have done it before, you know, is even better,” mused Alcaraz. “But three are three! Three Grand Slam are three Grand Slam. So I don’t know. It is a question that I got to think about.”

The opening Grand Slam of 2026 sets up as a clash between consistency and possibility. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have met in the last three major finals and, as they move into their mid-20s, they remain the presumptive protagonists. Still, 126 other players arrive intent on upsetting expectations.

Alcaraz has never advanced to the Australian Open semifinals. Three years ago he was injured; two years ago he lost to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals; last year he lost to Novak Djokovic, also in the quarterfinals. This season he enters his first major without long-time coach Juan Carlos Ferrero. “When Ferrero wasn’t there, Alcaraz could look lost.” His early path is manageable on paper: a first match with No. 79 Adam Walton, a third-round possibility against Corentin Moutet or Seb Korda, Tommy Paul in the fourth round and No. 6 Alex De Minaur projected in the quarters. He is 5-0 against De Minaur. Other quarter rivals include Alexander Bublik, Flavio Cobolli and Frances Tiafoe, but none would meet him until the quarterfinals.

Alexander Zverev arrives as No. 3 in the world, a 2025 finalist at Melbourne Park with a 31-10 record there. His recent struggles complicate the picture, yet the seeds nearest him are Andrey Rublev and Cam Norrie, opponents he is 13-3 against in total. The lower half of his quarter contains No. 11 Daniil Medvedev and No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Medvedev, coming off a Brisbane title, is a three-time Australian Open finalist aiming to atone for a 2025 collapse. Auger-Aliassime reached the quarters here and finished last year in the Top 5. “If Medvedev and FAA collide in the fourth round, I’ll take Medvedev. I’ll also take him over Zverev in the quarters.”

Novak Djokovic brings a record at the tournament of 10 titles and 99-10, but at 38 he has not won a major since 2023. He reached the 2025 semifinals at all four Slams before either injury or being outmatched by Sinner or Alcaraz. He opens against Pedro Martinez and could face Brandon Nakashima in a later round; possible big servers await in the fourth. If fitness holds, he projects as the favorite to make a 13th semi. Dark horse: No. 31 Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Sinner has a 14-match Australian Open winning streak dating to 2023, dropped just two sets en route to last year’s title and looks well suited to the conditions and atmosphere. He opens against No. 94 Hugo Gaston (Sinner 2-0 against him) with potential matches against Joao Fonseca and Karen Khachanov and quarter possibilities in Ben Shelton and Casper Ruud. “All of which is to say: Sinner losing before the semis would be a shock.”

Medvedev d. Alcaraz; Sinner d. Djokovic

Coco Gauff and Venus Williams might meet in the Australian Open second round after the tournament draw placed them on a collision course in the same section. Their rivalry traces back to Wimbledon, when a 15-year-old Gauff beat the seven-time major winner on her Grand Slam debut.

Gauff, now the No. 3 seed and a two-time major champion, thanked Williams after that Wimbledon victory, saying “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for her.” She then followed with a first-round win at the Australian Open in 2020.

Williams, 45, has received a wild-card entry for the Australian Open and is returning to Melbourne for the first time in five years. In the draw, Gauff was paired to open against No. 91-ranked Kamilla Rakhimova. Williams, listed at No. 576, was drawn to face No. 68-ranked Olga Danilovic in the first round.

Williams is set to become the oldest woman to compete in an Australian Open main draw, surpassing the record previously held by Kimiko Date, who was 44 when she lost in the first round at Melbourne Park in 2015. To meet Gauff again, Williams must win a match; she has yet to record a victory in 2026, having lost in the first round at events in New Zealand and in Hobart in the past two weeks.

After her 6-4, 6-3 win over Williams, Tatjana Maria reflected on the match: “everyone loves Venus. I love her, too.”

The draw places Gauff and Williams in the same half as top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka, who won back-to-back Australian Open titles before losing last year’s final to Madison Keys, opened her season with a title in Brisbane and could face 2021 US Open winner Emma Raducanu in a potential third-round match.

Defending champion Madison Keys, who lost in the Adelaide International quarterfinal to Victoria Mboko in three sets, is in the same quarter as No. 6 Jessica Pegula and No. 4 Amanda Anisimova. No. 2 Iga Świątek is in the bottom quarter of that half and could meet Naomi Osaka in a potential fourth round.

Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic landed in the same half, creating the possibility of a semifinal between the defending champion and the 24-time major winner. Djokovic, a 10-time Australian champion who has not progressed beyond the semifinals at Melbourne Park since 2023, played an exhibition against Frances Tiafoe and withdrew last week from a warmup tournament in Adelaide to give himself more time to be ready for the Open.