It’s hardly been a normal build-up to his first Grand Slam appearance, but Carlos Alcaraz remains upbeat.

The 17-year-old Spaniard is seeing out a 14-day hard quarantine ahead of the Australian Open - a small price to pay for the opportunity to test himself against the world’s best following his rapid rise up the rankings over the past 12 months.

“It’s amazing to be here,” said Alcaraz on Friday from his hotel room in Melbourne. “I’m very young and the Australian Open is going to push me for the rest of the season.”

Already garnering attention following his results in 2020, Alcaraz booked his ticket to Melbourne after defeating Filip Horansky, Evgeny Karlovskiy and Hugo Dellien at the men’s qualifying event in Doha, Qatar. When the Australian Open finally begins on 8 February, he will become the youngest player to feature in the men’s main draw at Melbourne Park since Thanasi Kokkinakis in 2014, having become the youngest man to qualify for the event since Novak Djokovic in 2005. 

Things appear to be happening rather fast for the Murcia native. It hardly seems a moment ago that he was leading Spain to the Junior Davis Cup title in 2018, but his rise up the rankings last year was stratospheric.

Alcaraz started 2020 at No. 490 in the world and finished the year at No. 141 - the youngest player inside the men's top 600. He won five professional singles titles; two on the ITF World Tennis Tour at M15 level on home soil in Manacor, and three at ATP Challengers in Trieste, Barcelona and Alicante.

Qualifying for the Australian Open is a continuation of that swift progress – and a reward for the intense pre-season he’s put in at the academy run by his coach, former world No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, in Villena, Valencia.

There, he enjoys the luxury of training with top 20 stars Pablo Carreno Busta and Roberto Bautista Agut, amongst others, but Alcaraz is particularly keen to praise the influence of his coach Ferrero, who is best known for winning Roland Garros in 2003.

“I’m very proud to have Juan Carlos as a coach,” said Alcaraz. “He has great experience and knowledge and I’m very proud to be able to learn from him.

“He contributes to my knowledge in a way that other coaches probably wouldn’t be able to. He understands the situations that I’m living now, because he experienced them in the past. He knows how to manage the pressure.

“It's not easy for me to talk openly but I trust him, and I always try to tell him how I feel physically and mentally. If I have any problem, I can speak with him and he gives me his advice. He is very helpful.”

Ferrero is with Alcaraz in Melbourne, sharing a training plan for both the mornings and afternoons from the adjacent room. The pair have done their best to maintain a disciplined structure through quarantine, but Alcaraz says he’s coping well. He has found plenty to keep him busy around his confined fitness work.

“I’m studying Segundo de Bachiller [the Spanish equivalent of A-levels] and preparing for my driving licence test,” he said. “I also do video calls with my parents and friends, so I keep busy most of the day.”

The teenager posted an image of himself reading the autobiography of his better-known compatriot Rafael Nadal on social media on Saturday evening – not a bad source of inspiration on the eve of his Grand Slam debut.

“Rafa is my idol,” Alcaraz admitted. “His hunger, his attitude. It doesn't matter if he plays a first match or a final, his level of concentration is the same. He wants to win every match.

“His mentality is an example for anyone, a tennis player or any person. He motivates everyone because he never surrenders. Everyone wants to be the best, no matter if you´re an athlete, a football player, a doctor, a journalist… everyone has an objective in life.”

Alcaraz has echoed some of the early performances of his idol. Last year, he notched his first ATP match-win while still aged 16 – beating former world No. 17 Albert Ramos-Vinolas in a stunning display in Rio de Janeiro, where he became the youngest Spanish player to win an ATP match since Nadal in 2002.

Alcaraz doesn’t dwell on those achievements though. His goals for the year ahead are where his attentions are focused.

“I don't focus on the records or if I'm the youngest player,” he admitted. “I want to improve every day and to focus on my objectives. My aims in 2021 are to play at Roland Garros, to be in the top 100 and to finish the season in the top 50.”

After the way his professional career has started, why wouldn't he achieve them?