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World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz made a winning start to his 2026 Australian Open campaign on Rod Laver Arena on Sunday night, defeating Australia’s Adam Walton in the first round of the Happy Slam, 6-3, 7-6 (2), 6-2.
It was actually a winning start to his 2026 season, period—he didn’t play any official lead-up tournaments over the last few weeks.
But the Spaniard came out strong on Sunday, cruising through the first set in 34 minutes, bouncing back from 3-1 down to take the second set on a tie-break, then rolling through the third in 32 minutes to close it out.
And with that victory, Alcaraz kept a very impressive stat going—he’s now 20-0 in his career in first-round matches at the Grand Slams.
He's left us speechless once again 🫢@CarlosAlcaraz defeated Adam Walton 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-2 and has officially started his quest for the Career Slam 🏆#AO26 pic.twitter.com/g14YcZH6TU
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) January 18, 2026
Alcaraz is just the second man this century to win their first 20 or more first-round matches in a row at Grand Slams, after Rafael Nadal, who won his first 34 before finally losing one to Steve Darcis at Wimbledon in 2013.
ALCARAZ IN FIRST-ROUND MATCHES AT GRAND SLAMS: 20-0
- d. Van de Zandschulp in '21 Australian Open 1st Rd, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
- d. Zapata Miralles in '21 Roland Garros 1st Rd, 6-3, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6
- d. Uchiyama in '21 Wimbledon 1st Rd, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
- d. Norrie in '21 US Open 1st Rd, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
- d. Tabilo in '22 Australian Open 1st Rd, 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
- d. Londero in '22 Roland Garros 1st Rd, 6-4, 6-2, 6-0
- d. Struff in '22 Wimbledon 1st Rd, 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4
- d. Baez in '22 US Open 1st Rd, 7-5, 7-5, 2-0 ret. (leg)
- d. Cobolli in '23 Roland Garros 1st Rd, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
- d. Chardy in '23 Wimbledon 1st Rd, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
- d. Koepfer in '23 US Open 1st Rd, 6-2, 3-2 ret. (ankle)
- d. Gasquet in '24 Australian Open 1st Rd, 7-6, 6-1, 6-2
- d. Wolf in '24 Roland Garros 1st Rd, 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
- d. Lajal in '24 Wimbledon 1st Rd, 7-6, 7-5, 6-2
- d. Tu in '24 US Open 1st Rd, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1
- d. Shevchenko in '25 Australian Open 1st Rd, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1
- d. Zeppieri in '25 Roland Garros 1st Rd, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
- d. Fognini in '25 Wimbledon 1st Rd, 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1
- d. Opelka in '25 US Open 1st Rd, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
- d. Walton in '26 Australian Open 1st Rd, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2
4- Carlos Alcaraz is the 4th player in the Open Era to win the opening match in each of his first 20 Men's Singles Grand Slam appearances after Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal. Marching. #AusOpen | @AustralianOpen @atptour
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 18, 2026
Alcaraz will be back on the court on Wednesday for his second-round match against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann, who defeated American qualifier Zachary Svajda earlier in the day in four sets, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3).
The Spaniard has beaten Hanfmann in straight sets in both of their previous meetings, first a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) victory at a Challenger event on clay in Seville, Spain in 2019 when he was only 16 years old, and then a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the first round of Beijing in 2023, on hard courts.
A two-time champion at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open, Alcaraz is trying to complete a Career Slam in Melbourne this year—and he would be the youngest man ever to achieve the feat if he does it this year.
