Halfway through the Australian Open means the draws are starting to get serious for the main contenders – provided they’re still in the mix.
Overall, I think the level of tennis from both sides was very high, but I’m just really happy that I made it in straight sets Carlos Alcaraz
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz is the favorite and booked his place in the last eight by eliminating Tommy Paul in straight sets, surpassing the American who mounted a strong challenge to push the Spaniard to the limit.
Despite this, Alcaraz progressed 7-6(6) 6-4 7-5 to record his fourth win without conceding a set, although that looked threatened in the fourth round.
Paul, seeded 19, has defeated the Spaniard twice in the six previous encounters and was able to quickly gain an advantage over the Spaniard by opening a 4-2 lead, allowing Alcaraz to recover with strong play outside the baseline and force a tiebreak.
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In that tiebreak, Paul saved a set point at 5-6 with an excellent backhand down the line, after which the American handed the set to him with a double fault at 6-7!
Having gained momentum, Alcaraz pressed on with a break in the third game of the second and to their delight, entertained the packed Rod Laver Arena with a wide variety of his signature shots, including plenty of spin and speed of movement.
Paul, sidelined through injury for the final three months of the 2025 season, responded in battle style to try and reach his fifth Grand Slam quarter-final but could find no answer to the brutal Alcaraz play.
After saving three break points to hold serve for 2-1 in the third game of the third set, 28-year-old Paul was unable to repel the attack that came in the 11th game as Alcaraz crucially grabbed his third break of the match before serving out to reach the last eight after a two-hour, four-four-minute match with 35 winners.
“I think he started quite strong. In the first game, when I was serving, I thought I was playing a good match, but he came with very strong shots, very flat, and for me it was a bit difficult,” Alcaraz recalled 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.”
Now that he has matched his best performances at the AO, Alcaraz will set his sights and claim the title for the first time, establishing a Grand Slam career after winning all four major singles trophies.
(Photo by Morgan Hancock/Getty Images)
His next opponent, Alex de Minaur, is also on a mission as his aim is to win the AO title for Australia, something no Australian has achieved since Mark Edmondson in 1976 and, like Alcaraz, matched his best performance in Melbourne by reaching the quarter-finals for the second time with a comfortable 6-4 6-1 6-1 win over 10th seed Alexander Bublik.
However, the 26-year-old Australian sixth seed has never reached the semi-finals of a grand slam before, so apart from Alcaraz, he has a huge mental barrier to overcome.
The Kazakh could not impress the sixth seed, who countered everything Bublik threw at him with his well-known speed across the field.
“I knew what to expect today,” said De Minaur. “Bublik is a great player. He has so much firepower and I have lost to him the last few times. I made sure I was ready to go from the first point to the last and I was locked in. It was all about neutralizing his big groundstrokes and doing my best to get him moving and it all worked perfectly.
“I think I have hit the ball extremely well in the last two matches I have played and I am extremely happy with my level,” added De Minaur, who is yet to drop a set at this year’s event.
I think I’m doing everything I want on the pitch and I’m excited for the next one, which is going to be a big one. I’m going to have to come out here guns blazing and I’m looking forward to a fight.”
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