Melbourne | Alcaraz dismisses Australia’s hopes and enters the semi-finals

Carlos Alcaraz is motivated to write his own history Down Under by helping his father make the dream come true.

Today I felt really comfortable. I play great tennis that I am proud of. I’m very happy to be in the semi-finals Carlos Alcaraz

The world number 1 defeated potential home hero Alex de Minaur 7-5 6-2 6-1 to reach his first Australian Open semi-final, where he will face third seed Alexander Zverev.

With father Carlos Senior and other members of his family at the court, he said: “This experience was my father’s dream when he played tennis, so I am very happy to see my father living his dream with me.

“It’s great for me (to have his father and brother present). We joke in the locker room; all the players have told me that I could play a football match with my team (given the number of players in it).

“I need my people around me. They are the reason I play great tennis. They make me feel like I am always at home and so far it has been great.”

And he is on a revenge mission to keep his run going for himself and his loved ones by beating Germany’s Zverev, last year’s defeated finalist, to earn a spot in the decider against reigning champion Jannik Sinner, his biggest rival, or Ben Shelton.

Alcaraz, defeated by Zverev at the same stage in 2024, said: “I have to raise my level. I have seen him (Zverev) throughout the tournament. He plays very solid, aggressive tennis and he serves quite well.”

“I have to be ready. We have to play very well tactically. It will be a great battle and I am looking forward to playing against him again here and taking revenge.”

And he vowed to “make the most of the two days off” ahead of the final four showdown.

The 22-year-old can complete a Grand Slam career if he claims his first major down under, having already won the French Open, Wimbledon and the US Open twice.

The, for him, not so Happy Slam has escaped his grasp after he suffered a quarter-final defeat against ten-time champion Novak Djokovic for the second time in a row last year.

But it appears he has learned from his losses in his sixth Melbourne campaign. He’s certainly had his ducks in a row during the 2026 extension. Alcaraz hasn’t dropped a set. In fact, he’s only dropped one in his last 37 at Slams.

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

The match, which was last played indoors with outside temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius during the day, started at a brutal pace. The first six matches were hailed as “breathtaking” by former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash.

De Minaur broke back twice. But Alcaraz changed it and started to ‘slow down’ the Australian using topspin. It disrupted his opponent’s rhythm, with De Minaur forced to generate his own pace. Alcaraz made a third break to end the set.

And from then on the Spaniard ran away with the match as De Minaur, the 26-year-old sixth seed, was denied a place in the semi-finals at the seventh attempt.

Alcaraz said: “I am happy with the way I am playing here. From the first round until now, I am raising my level every match. My team told me after the first match that my level that I want to play is going to come.”

“Today I felt really comfortable. I played great tennis that I am proud of. I am very happy to be in the semi-finals.”

“Playing Alex is very difficult. I started the match very well, but he makes you rush all the time. You have to hit every ball as hard as you can, which is impossible against him. Against Alex it is always difficult. You have to be focused on every ball.”

Carlos Alcaraz sails in Melbourne

(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Award-winning sports journalist Mike Donovan has been writing about tennis for almost 40 years, citing Andy Murray’s historic victory at Wimbledon in 2013, the first by a Briton in 77 years, as highlights, along with reporting on a Davis Cup match in Bucharest shortly after the assassination of Romanian leader Nicolae Ceausescu, plus electronically submitting reports on the 1990 US Open won by teenager Pete Sampras for the pioneering Today newspaper. He is also an author and has written several Tottenham Hotspur-related books, the latest being Danny Blanchflower: A Glorious Life: The Authorized 100th Anniversary Biography of a Global Football Icon, which will be published on Pitch in March. Blanchflower is a monumental figure in Spurs history and was voted World X1 Champion at the World Cup.