Carlos Alcaraz eases into quarter-finals with straight sets win over Tommy Paul
By Eleanor Crooks, Press Association Sport Correspondent, Melbourne
Carlos Alcaraz equalled his best run at the Australian Open by beating Tommy Paul in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.
The world number one has made no secret of his desire to claim the title and become the youngest man ever to complete the career Grand Slam of all four major crowns.
He is yet to drop a set at Melbourne Park and overcame a few tricky moments to maintain that in a 7-6 (6) 6-4 7-5 victory over American Paul.
Alcaraz found himself immediately on the back foot on Rod Laver Arena and he trailed 4-2 in the opening set before fighting back, while a lengthy stoppage for a medical emergency in the crowd at 3-3 in the tie-break was awkward timing for both men.
It was Paul who cracked, double-faulting on Alcaraz’s second set point, and the Spaniard’s extra firepower eventually carried him across the line.
“I think he started pretty strong,” said Alcaraz, who bettered the record held by Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker by reaching a 14th slam quarter-final before turning 23.
“He came with really strong shots and for me it was difficult a little bit but I stayed there all the time. I knew I was going to have my chances. Overall it’s been a really high level of tennis from both sides, I’m just really happy I got it in straight sets.”
The improved serve that helped carry Alcaraz to a sixth slam title at the US Open last summer has remained a work in progress, and the 22-year-old is particularly happy with the reliability of his first delivery.
He averaged 70 per cent first serves against Paul, just a touch higher than his mark for the tournament as a whole.
“I’m surprising myself,” he said. “The serve is something that I’ve been working on since a long time ago. I’m just really happy to see the improvement of the serve.
“After every set, I try to check (the statistics) out. The four matches I’ve played, the serve has been a really important weapon for me.”
Now Alcaraz must try to break new ground in Melbourne when he takes on home favourite Alex De Minaur, who dispatched in-form 10th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-1 6-1.
It is the third year in a row Alcaraz has reached the last eight, with Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic getting the better of him the last two years.
De Minaur is also bidding to reach the last four here for the first time – and indeed at any slam – and the concerning statistic for the home fans is that he has lost all five meetings with Alcaraz.
“I’m going to have to come out guns blazing and I’m excited for a battle against Carlitos,” said the sixth seed.
Third seed Zverev, who made the final last year, is back in the last eight after easing to a 6-2 6-4 6-4 win over Francisco Cerundolo.
His next opponent will be 20-year-old American Learner Tien, who blew apart his rivalry with Daniil Medvedev to become the youngest men’s quarter-finalist here since Nick Kyrgios in 2015.
Tien and Medvedev met three times last year, including in Melbourne, and all of them were lung-busting battles, but Tien needed just an hour and 42 minutes to wrap up a 6-4 6-0 6-3 victory, handing his opponent a first ‘bagel’ set at a slam.