15/01/2026

SPORTS THURSDAY | JAN 15, 2026 28 Alcaraz faces Sinner roadblock … as Spaniard targets career Grand Slam in Australia C ARLOS ALCARAZ is targeting a career Grand Slam at the Australian Open but winning the only major to elude him will be no easy feat with great rival Jannik Sinner standing in his way. champion who is chasing his own slice of history. each since Djokovic won his 24th major at the 2023 US Open. The Serb is back again at his most successful hunting ground, but there are questions over his fitness and form with the 38-year-old pulling out of this week’s Adelaide International.

Rahm, Smith and DeChambeau snub PGA Tour LIV GOLF’S Jon Rahm, Cam Smith and Bryson DeChambeau have turned their backs on a chance to return to the PGA Tour, choosing to stay loyal to the Saudi-backed circuit even as former world No. 1 Brooks Koepka makes a costly comeback. Three of LIV Golf’s biggest names – all major champions who qualify for the PGA Tour’s “Returning Member Programme”– firmly committed to remaining with LIV Golf rather than follow Koepka’s lead back to the sport’s traditional powerhouse. The PGA Tour had opened its doors only to golfers who have won a major or The Players Championship since 2022. But while five-time major winner Koepka has applied to return after leaving LIV Golf, his former colleagues are staying put. “I’m not planning on going anywhere,” Rahm, who won the Masters in 2023, told reporters. “I wish Brooks the best. “As far as I’m concerned, I’m focused on the league and my team this year and hopefully we can repeat as champions again.” DeChambeau, an American who won the 2024 US Open, was equally blunt, saying: “I’m contracted through 2026, so I’m excited about this year.” Smith, an Australian who won the 2022 British Open, said he had not given the PGA Tour’s announcement any thought, but dismissed any notion of a departure. “I haven’t had a lot of time to think about it, but I know I’m here to stay. I’m here to support LIV,” he said. “I’m a captain of a great team and a great group of people. I’m happy where I am, I’m proud of where I am. “I think we do many great things, particularly in Australia, and I can’t wait for this league to keep growing.” PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp had said eligible players have until Feb 2 to apply for reinstatement. Koepka’s return comes with a hefty price tag that may explain his colleagues’ reluctance to follow suit. The 35-year-old faces a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour’s Player Equity Programme, representing an estimated US$50 million to US$85 million (RM210m-RM357m) loss depending on his performance and tour growth. He has also agreed to make a US$5 million (RM21m) charitable contribution with recipients to be determined jointly with the PGA Tour. – Reuters Premature celebration prove costly in dramatic late collapse SEBASTIAN OFNER may never forget the rules of the sport again after his premature victory celebration turned into a nightmare collapse against Nishesh Basavareddy in the Australian Open qualifiers yesterday. Austrian Ofner looked destined for the next round when he surged to a commanding 6-1 lead in the deciding set tiebreak against 20-year-old American Basavareddy. But after winning another point to move 7-1 ahead, Ofner began celebrating and walked confidently toward the net – apparently forgetting that final-set tiebreaks require 10 points to win and not the usual seven. The sheepish realisation of his blunder was written all over Ofner’s face as he trudged back to the baseline, but the damage was already done as Basavareddy had all the motivation he needed. What followed was a dramatic turnaround as Basavareddy reeled off eight of the next nine points before snatching a stunning 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(13-11) victory from the jaws of defeat. Basavareddy marked his remarkable comeback by first holding his hands at his neck in a “choking” celebration before pumping his fist, while a deflated Ofner could only shake hands and contemplate what might have been. The victory was particularly sweet for the American, who earned his stripes as a wildcard last year when he took the opening set off 10-times champion Novak Djokovic in the first round before eventually being eliminated. – Reuters

If the 24-year-old makes it three in a row in Melbourne he would join Djokovic as the only men in the Open era to do so. The Serbian legend has done the three-peat twice during his 10 titles at Melbourne Park. “I feel like a better player than last year,” warned Sinner after completing his 2025 campaign with 58 wins and just six defeats. “A lot of wins and not many losses. And in the losses I had, I tried to see the positive thing and tried to use it to evolve me as a player.” Sinner came from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 Australian Open final before seeing off Zverev in straight sets a year ago. While Sinner is the defending champion, Alcaraz leads 10-6 in their head to-head record and bumped Sinner from the season-ending world number one spot. They met in a light-hearted exhibition match in South Korea last weekend, the pair’s only warm-up for Melbourne, with Alcaraz coming out on top. Such is the dominance of “Sincaraz”, as they are being called, they have shared the last eight Grand Slam titles, picking up four

Spain’s Alcaraz already has six major titles under his belt aged just 22, but success on the Melbourne Park hard courts is a glaring hole in his resume. He has not made it past the quarterfinals in four trips to Australia, losing at that stage in 2025 to Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev the year before. “It’s my first goal to be honest,” Alcaraz said of Australia after winning the US Open last year, his second Slam title of 2025 after defending his crown at Roland Garros. “When I just go to the pre-seasons to what I want to improve, what I want to achieve, Australian Open is there.” Should he snap his Australia drought at the tournament starting on Sunday, Alcaraz would become the youngest man to bank a career Grand Slam, surpassing retired compatriot Rafael Nadal, who secured all four majors by the age of 24. Alcaraz faces a significant roadblock in Italy’s Sinner, the two-time defending

Still chasing a record 25th major crown, Djokovic could be at his last Australian Open and will be desperate to win there again. Djokovic made the semis at all four majors last year but went no further, admitting “I can do only as much as I can do”. World No. 3 Zverev, along with Lorenzo Musetti, Alex de Minaur and Felix Auger Aliassime, ranked five, six and seven respectively, will be looking to crash the party and win a first major. Three-time losing finalist Medvedev is a dark horse after winning the lead-up Brisbane International, while American Learner Tien spearheads the new guard fresh from lifting the ATP Next Gen title. Jakub Mensik and Joao Fonseca are also among the young talents looking to make a mark, while Alexander Bublik will fancy going deep after winning the Hong Kong Open and breaking into the top 10. – AFP

‘Best 24 hours of my life ’

McLaren’s Lando Norris celebrates after winning the Formula One World Championship in Abu Dhabi on Dec 6. – @landonorris/Instagram

Ű BY KIERAN JACKSON

what was about to happen. “I pictured everyone in the garage for the final 4 corners, then that next step of emotion starts to kick in and it’s the realisa tion of what’s happened. The last 18 years all led to this one moment.” The video also showed a brief behind the scenes interaction between Norris and McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri – who missed out on the world title – with the Australian congratulat ing Norris. McLaren launch their 2026 car on Feb 9 in Bahrain, prior to the second of three pre-season tests. Norris’s defence of his world championship starts with the season opening Australian Grand Prix on March 8 in Melbourne. – The Independent

place for most of the grand prix, in the knowledge that any mis take would prove season-defin ing, but the Bristolian only allowed himself to think of the finish line in the final couple of laps. “It felt like a normal race but with two laps to go, the time starts to slow down a little bit,” he added. “You think about every screw, bolt, wire, and imagine inside my car what everything is doing. You’re in that moment: damn, what could go wrong? Because everything is going right. “That’s how the last two laps went until I went under the hotel (four corners left), then I pictured my mum in the garage. “That was the first moment all year I just about started to realise

tory in a new video on his YouTube channel, Norris has revealed the self-doubt in his mind before the final round in Abu Dhabi. “The week leading up to the biggest race of my life? I didn’t how to act, how I was meant to be,” Norris said, speaking to the camera, in a video titled The best 24 hours of my life. “I didn’t know if I was meant to be really excited or not… scared. I thought I’d be pretty damn nervous. I get nervous in every race, every qualifying, always, that’s a normal thing. I thought it’d be a bit too chaotic for me. “But then getting in the car, I felt very ready, very calm. I still knew in my head: ‘this is it’. The time had come.” Norris was running in third

LANDO NORRIS has revealed he thought last year’s season-finale in Abu Dhabi would be “too cha otic” for him before the Briton sealed his first F1 world champi onship. McLaren driver Norris won his first title with a third-place finish at the final race of the 2025 sea son in December, with race win ner Max Verstappen falling two points short of an incredulous comeback. Norris, 26, has regularly criti cised himself after mistakes on track in the past few years but managed to maintain his compo sure to seal McLaren’s first drivers’ championship since Lewis Hamilton’s victory in 2008. Now, a month on from his vic