Awesome Alcaraz hurries on in Melbourne

Carlos Alcaraz is heating up at the Australian Open.

The second seed raced past Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 on Monday night in Melbourne to seal a quarter-final berth for the first time at the hard-court major. The 20-year-old Alcaraz clinched the only break in each of the opening two sets inside Rod Laver Arena before producing some scintillating baseline hitting in the third to wrap a comprehensive one-hour, 49-minute triumph.

“I’m feeling better and better every day,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “Every match that I play here in Rod Laver Arena, I’m feeling more comfortable. Obviously, it is a pleasure to play here. It’s an amazing court, a beautiful one.

“I enjoy playing here and showing my best level. It feels like home, which is always great, so I hope to keep feeling better and better every day.”

𝐶𝐿𝐼𝑁𝐼𝐶𝐴𝐿 𝐶𝐴𝑅𝐿𝑂𝑆 💥@carlosalcaraz reaches his first #AusOpen quarter-final after getting past Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0!@AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/YbWkqJWwui

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 22, 2024

Alcaraz and Kecmanovic’s only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting had been a nailbiting deciding-set tie-break win for the Spaniard in 2022 in Miami. The pair’s first Grand Slam meeting never threatened to provide the same kind of drama, however, despite Kecmanovic competing as best he could throughout.

The Serbian, who had pulled through five-set wins against seeded opponents Jan-Lennard Struff and Tommy Paul in his two previous rounds in Melbourne, was given little time to settle by Alcaraz’s consistently huge baseline striking. The two-time major champion racked up 43 winners, 18 of which came from groundstrokes.

After opening a two-set lead, Alcaraz appeared to raise his level a step further as he accelerated for victory. His relentless, aggressive approach led to some stunning winners off both wings that had the night session crowd on their feet.

With his impressive triumph, Alcaraz maintained the pressure on Novak Djokovic in the battle for World No. 1. The Spaniard trails Djokovic by 200 points in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings after joining the top-seeded Serbian in the quarter-finals.

“I think everything [worked] tonight,” said Alcaraz of his display against Kecmanovic. “In Miami in 2022 it was a really close match, a high level from both of us. I think today it was a pretty good match as well, but I pushed him to the limit with every ball, in every point.

“Obviously he has played a lot of matches in five sets, a lot of tough matches before this one, so probably physically he wasn’t at 100 per cent. Every ball I pushed him to the limit, moved him side to side. I took my chances in every set, and I think it was a pretty good match from myself.”

Alcaraz has dropped just one set so far on his third appearance at the Australian Open, where he missed the 2023 edition due to injury. The Spaniard’s next opponent at Melbourne Park will be Alexander Zverev, who earlier overcame Cameron Norrie 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(10-3).