Alcaraz Secures Victory Over Sinner in Pre-Australian Open Exhibition Match

In a thrilling exhibition match held in South Korea, world number one Carlos Alcaraz emerged victorious against his closest rival, Jannik Sinner, with a 7-5 7-6 win. This hardcourt match, known as the Hyundai Card Super Match, saw the top two players in the men's game face off ahead of the Australian Open, which is scheduled to take place in Melbourne from January 18 to February 1. Neither Alcaraz nor Sinner is participating in any official tournaments before the Australian Open. Notably, Sinner has been the champion of the last two Australian Open titles, defeating Daniil Medvedev in 2024 and Alexander Zverev in 2025. A win for Alcaraz at the Australian Open would mark a significant milestone, as it would complete his career Grand Slam. Sinner and Alcaraz have dominated the Grand Slam scene, sharing the last eight titles between them, with each player securing four wins since Novak Djokovic's 24th major victory at the 2023 US Open. Last year, Sinner claimed his first Wimbledon title by defeating Alcaraz in four sets, but he lost to Alcaraz in the finals of the French Open and US Open. Alcaraz came back from two sets down to win a remarkable match at Roland Garros. In their head-to-head matches last year, Alcaraz beat Sinner in four out of six finals, including the Masters 1000 events in Rome and Cincinnati. Sinner's second win over Alcaraz came in the final of the season-ending ATP Finals in his homeland, making their career ATP Tour head-to-head 10-6 in Alcaraz's favor. During the exhibition match, an entertaining moment occurred when the match was paused in the fifth game of the second set, and Alcaraz engaged in a rally with a young fan who was given Sinner's racket. After the match, Sinner commented, "It was an entertaining match, which is why we came here. Our main goal, however, is the Australian Open. Exhibition matches are different; we're more relaxed and try to entertain the crowd with different shots and actions on court." Alcaraz added, "We need the support of our fans to perform our best, so feeling the love from the people was necessary for me to play great tennis like I did today." The ATP and WTA Tours can be streamed live on Sky Sports, and various other sports, including football, cricket, NFL, and golf, can be watched contract-free with NOW.