Melbourne, Australia, Jan 25 (EFE).- World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz advanced through the fourth round of the Australian Open with a dominant 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 win against American Tommy Paul to reach the quarterfinals of the tournament for the third consecutive year.
The Spaniard displayed his best performance so far in Melbourne and will try to surpass it on Tuesday against the winner of the match between Alex de Minaur and Alexander Bublik to reach the semifinals for the first time in Australia.
This is the goal of the 22-year-old, who is clearly aiming for success in Australia, the only Grand Slam title missing from his record.
The Spanish player took two hours and 37 minutes to complete the task, securing his 88th victory in the 101 Grand Slam matches he has played.
He was abruptly awakened when he lost his serve in the opening game, giving his opponent a 2-0 lead.
He only had to wait six more games, in the eighth game, to break the American’s serve and level the score (4-4), which he definitively turned in his favor in the tie-break, winning 7-5.
Everything was in order for the player from Murcia, who was now ahead on the scoreboard, with milder weather than the previous day, slightly less heat, and the support of his entire team in his box, now led by Samu López.
A medical problem in the stands, a heat stroke suffered by a fan, had caused a 15-minute delay during that tie-break. Alcaraz remained unaffected and continued playing, extending his lead in the second set when he broke serve in the third game and went up 2-1 with his serve. He closed it out 6-4.
Paul, who had beaten Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich in the second round, who retired before the third set after losing the previous two sets 6-1, gradually ran out of steam.
Paul, who was once ranked eighth in the world, couldn’t gain an advantage in the sets and saw his chances of repeating his semifinal appearance, his best performance in Melbourne, slipping away.
The victory slipped further away from Paul, 28 years old and ranked 20th in the ATP rankings, while Alcaraz continued playing his game, without making any concessions. The last set was more balanced, with both players holding serve. It was in the 11th game that the Spaniard broke serve and then quickly closed out the match.
Alcaraz, who achieved his second victory in five matches against top 20 players in Australia, became the 14th man in the Open Era to reach three quarterfinals in all four Grand Slam tournaments. EFE
apa/pd
