Carlos Alcaraz's bid to complete a career Grand Slam met major resistance Wednesday at the Australian Open. But after he battled back from a break down in a titanic opening set against Yannick Hanfmann, the Spaniard separated from the No. 102 in the PIF ATP Rankings to record his second straight-sets victory of the Melbourne fortnight, 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2.
In a 78-minute opener — the longest first set of Alcaraz's career at the Slams — Hanfmann gave the World No. 1 all he could handle by combining a rock-solid baseline performance with well-timed attacks in Rod Laver Arena. The German, who led 3-1 in the set and saved two break points at 5-5, later built a 4/3 lead in the tie-break before Alcaraz rattled off four straight points.
The 34-year-old Hanfmann, who got engaged last Thursday in Melbourne, was seeking to become the first player outside the Top 100 of the PIF ATP Rankings to defeat Alcaraz at a major. While he maintained a high level after the disappointing end to the opening set, Alcaraz was relentless in stretching his lead. Though it did not show in his tennis, Hanfmann was also affected by an apparent oblique injury that required treatment from the physio in between the second and third sets.
After facing three break points in his first two service games, Alcaraz did not allow another break chance until he fought off four in the final game of the match. He hit 11 aces in the victory, according to Infosys Stats, including four in a row in his opening service game of the final set.
The top seed will next meet qualifier Michael Zheng, who is due to return to play college tennis for the Columbia Lions after the tournament, or 32nd seed Corentin Moutet in the third round. Alcaraz is two wins away from matching his best Australian Open result: quarter-final runs in each of the past two years.
The 22-year-old is seeking to become the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam in singles, and the youngest in the Open Era to win seven major singles titles.
More to follow...
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