Alcaraz cruises into Australian Open quarters with Paul win

MELBOURNE: Carlos Alcaraz eased into his third successive Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday, doling out another Grand Slam beatdown for American Tommy Paul in a match disrupted by a medical emergency in the crowd.

Having thrashed Paul in last year’s French Open quarter-finals and beaten him in four sets at Wimbledon in 2024, the world number one gave the 19th seed a hard-court humbling with a 7-6(6) 6-4 7-5 win in the afternoon sunshine at Rod Laver Arena.

“He started pretty strong …. I knew I was going to have my chances and I think I did that,” Alcaraz said on court.

“Overall it was a really high level of tennis from both sides but really happy I got it in straight sets.”

The first set was halted for some 14 minutes at 3-3 in the tiebreak as medical staff attended to a stricken fan high up in the terraces. The elderly woman was able to get to her feet and was helped out of the arena.

When play resumed, Paul ended up double-faulting to lost the set, setting the tone for a match that saw him squander hard work with momentary lapses.

A single service break in each of the last two sets was all Alcaraz needed to claim the match, having given Paul virtually nothing on his own serve.

Alcaraz, who next faces the winner of sixth seed Alex de Minaur and 10th seed Alexander Bublik, tweaked his serving motion over the pre-season, raising comparisons with Novak Djokovic’s action.

The Spaniard said the Serbian great had sent him a light-hearted message about it.

“I wasn’t aware it was really similar to Novak’s serve …. I had a Djokovic message (saying) that ‘Alright, you have to pay me.’

“I have the contract over there but I haven’t seen him yet,” he added with a smile.