ATP Tour

Alcaraz passes Paul test to book Australian Open QF spot

Carlos Alcaraz faced the sternest test of his 2026 Australian Open so far on Sunday afternoon, but the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings overcame the challenge of Tommy Paul to maintain his commanding start to the hard-court major in Melbourne.

Alcaraz overcame 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 victories against the Spaniard, quickly showcased the threat he posed by opening a 4-2 lead early inside Rod Laver Arena. Yet Alcaraz soon recovered and produced some scintillating tennis to reach his third consecutive Australian Open quarter-final.

World No. 1 things 🔥@carlosalcaraz defeats Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 to return to the quarter-finals.@AustralianOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/cnTEtNaIuS

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 25, 2026

“I think he started pretty strong. In the first game, serving, I thought I played a good game, but he came with really strong shots, really flat, and for me it was a bit difficult,” said Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “But I stayed there all the time and I knew I was going to have my chances, and I tried to take them. I think I did that.

“Overall, I think it was a really high level of tennis 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, according to Infosys Stats, en route to sealing a last-eight meeting with home favourite Alex de Minaur or Alexander Bublik at Melbourne Park. With his two-hour, 44-minute victory, Alcaraz also stayed on track 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 countryman Rafael Nadal.

In a tight first set, Alcaraz had to fight back from the early break deficit as 2023 semi-finalist Paul went toe to toe with the powerful Spaniard from the baseline. In the subsequent tie-break, Paul fired a backhand down the line to fend off a set point at 5/6 that 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 favour, Alcaraz rode a purple patch to clinch a break of serve in the third game of the second set. The 24-time tour-level titlist produced a series of winners off his forehand in particular that had the Rod Laver Arena crowd gasping at the combination of spin and sheer velocity.

Paul, who won five of his first seven matches this season after not competing for the final three months of the 2025 season due to injury, continued to battle in trademark fashion in pursuit of his fifth Grand Slam quarter-final. However, although the 28-year-old did not lack moments of quality of his own, he was unable to sustain any real pressure on Alcaraz once the first set was gone.

After saving three break points to hold serve for 2-1 in the third game of the third set, Paul was unable to 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.