Carlos Alcaraz passes the Tommy Paul test at the Australian Open | ATP tour | Tennis

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Alcaraz passes the Paul test and books a QF spot at the Australian Open

The world number 1 will face home hope De Minaur or Bublik in the last eight
January 25, 2026

Carlos Alcaraz faced the toughest test of his 2026 Australian Open yet on Sunday afternoon, but the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings overcame Tommy Paul’s challenge to maintain his impressive start at the hard-court major in Melbourne.

Alcaraz defeated 19th seed Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 with a fourth-round performance packed with explosive shotmaking to improve to 12-0 in sets played so far this fortnight. Paul, owner of two Lexus ATP Head2Head wins against the Spaniard, quickly showed the threat he posed by opening up a 4-2 lead early on at Rod Laver Arena. Still, Alcaraz quickly recovered and produced scintillating tennis to reach his third consecutive Australian Open quarter-final.

World number 1 things 🔥@carlosalcaraz beats Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 to return to the quarter-finals.@AustraliaOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/cnTEtNaIuS

— ATP tour (@atptour) January 25, 2026

“I think he started quite strong. In the first game, when I served, I thought I played a good match, but he came with very strong shots, very flat, and for me it was a bit difficult,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “But I stayed there the whole time and I knew I was going to get my opportunities, and I tried to take advantage of them. I think I did that.”

“Overall I think the level of tennis was very high from both sides, but I’m just really happy that I got it in straight sets.”

The 22-year-old top seed fired 35 winners en route to a last-eight meeting with home favorite Alex de Minaur or Alexander Bublik at Melbourne Park, according to Infosys Stats. With his two-hour, 44-minute victory, Alcaraz also stayed on course to become the youngest man to complete the Career Grand Slam (winning the singles title at all four majors). The current holder of that record is his compatriot Rafael Nadal.

In a tight first set, Alcaraz had to fight back from the early break deficit as 2023 semi-finalist Paul battled the powerful Spaniard from the baseline. In the ensuing tiebreak, Paul fired a backhand down the line to repel a set point at 5/6, which proved to be one of the highlights of the match, but the American quickly undermined that effort by gifting Alcaraz the set with a double fault at 6/7.

With the momentum firmly in his favor, Alcaraz was in purple and delivered a service break in the third game of the second set. The 24-time tour-level title winner produced a string of winners with his forehand in particular, leaving the Rod Laver Arena crowd gasping with the combination of spin and sheer speed.

Paul, who won five of his first seven matches this season after sitting out the final three months of the 2025 season due to injury, continued to battle in characteristic fashion in pursuit of his fifth Grand Slam quarter-final. Although the 28-year-old himself had no shortage of moments of quality, he was unable to put any real pressure on Alcaraz after the first set.

After saving three break points to hold serve for 2-1 in the third game of the third set, Paul could not repeat the escape in the 11th game. Alcaraz crucially claimed his third break of the match before serving out to improve to 6-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Paul.