After dismissing Tommy Paul in straight sets, Carlos Alcaraz faces a far sterner test at the Australian Open as he meets home favourite Alex de Minaur in Tuesday’s quarter final.
Carlos Alcaraz v Alex de Minaur will be broadcast live in the UK on TNT Sports. The match is due to start at 8am on Tuesday 27th January.
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The world number one has been ruthless through the opening week in Melbourne, dropping no sets across four efficient victories.
While the scoreline against Paul read 7-6 6-4 7-5, the match was far from routine early on, with the American racing into a 4-2 lead in the opener before Alcaraz steadied and took control.
De Minaur arrives in the last eight full of confidence after producing one of the standout performances of the tournament, dismantling Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-1 6-1.
It was a continuation of a dominant first week that has fuelled belief the Australian can finally make a deep run at his home Slam.
The 25yr old Aussie looks to be playing the best tennis of his career, combining his obvious speed and defence with a noticeably more aggressive brand of ball striking.
That run of form has made him a genuine threat, particularly with the backing of a partisan Rod Laver Arena crowd.
History is firmly against the Aussie though. De Minaur has lost all five previous meetings with Alcaraz, including three defeats last season, and has yet to find a reliable way of consistently disrupting the Spaniard’s serve.
Alcaraz’s remodelled service motion has been one of the talking points in Melbourne, even drawing a tongue in cheek copyright joke from Novak Djokovic.
While serving has never been his greatest weapon, the improvements have added a valuable layer to his game on quicker courts, something he exploited so effectively during his title run at Queen’s Club last summer.
Across four matches at this year’s Australian Open, Alcaraz has fired down 25 aces and committed just five double faults. Against Paul, he held serve 16 times and was broken only once, winning 86 percent of first serve points in the third set while landing 76 percent of those deliveries.
If those numbers hold, De Minaur may struggle to generate meaningful pressure. The Australian has not managed more than two breaks of serve in any of their previous meetings so he is definitely up against it today.
To clear three breaks on Tuesday, De Minaur is likely to need double digit opportunities, which looks a tall order against an Alcaraz serve currently in such efficient shape.
