Alex de Minaur says what he’s ‘intrigued to see’ after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Australian Open quarterfinals

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Alex de Minaur is out of the Australian Open…

The Aussie came up short in the quarterfinals once again, as De Minaur lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets, 5-7, 2-6, 1-6.

De Minaur was competitive early on against Alcaraz, but soon ran out of gas against the world number one.

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During his post-match press conference, De Minaur was asked if he was surprised by Alcaraz’s level and looked ahead to the rest of the tournament.

Alex de Minaur is ‘intrigued to see’ how the rest of the Australian Open pans out

“To be honest, when I played him in the exhibition just before the tournament, I thought his level was freakishly good,” said De Minaur.

• AO warmup – Carlos Alcaraz defeated Alex de Minaur, 6-3, 6-4

“I thought his level was freakishly good. Tonight was pretty similar. I mean, especially in those night conditions, he’s so strong, right?

“He’s able to generate so much force, and his unforced errors just almost disappear, right? In the past, when the conditions have been, you know, a little bit quicker and skittier, I’ve been able to have some reward with some of my flat groundstrokes, especially into the backhand wing. But today, there wasn’t really a whole lot of reward.

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“Maybe the first set there were chances, right? There was plenty of Love-30s and stuff like that on his serve, but apart from that, after the first set and when it got a little bit heavier, yeah, it was pretty tough for me to really hurt him at all.

“That’s the biggest thing. The rallies start. I’m probably hitting the ball bigger than I’ve hit, you know, previously in these types of matches, but I’m still not able to kind of hit through him.

“Then he’s obviously got the ability to generate on command. If you leave one ball short, then the point’s over.”

After witnessing Alcaraz’s level firsthand, De Minaur shared what he’s looking forward to seeing over the next few days.

“He’s definitely playing at a very high level,” he said.

“I’ll be very intrigued to see how the rest of the tournament plays out.

“I do think he’s playing at a very high level. Ultimately, he’s number one in the world for a reason.”

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Alcaraz is certainly playing like the world number one, and is now just two wins away from a maiden Australian Open title…

Who can stop Carlos Alcaraz from winning the Australian Open?

Just six players remain in the 2026 Australian Open men’s singles draw.

• [1] Carlos Alcaraz
• [2] Jannik Sinner
• [3] Alexander Zverev
• [4] Novak Djokovic
• [5] Lorenzo Musetti
• [8] Ben Shelton

Alcaraz will play Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, and should he win that match, he’d meet either Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Lorenzo Musetti, or Ben Shelton in the final.

The good news for Alcaraz is that he has a combined 27-18 winning head-to-head record against the field.

Carlos Alcaraz’s head-to-head record against players still in the draw

He only has a losing head-to-head record against one player, Djokovic, and even then, Alcaraz won their last encounter.

Alcaraz certainly looks well-positioned to claim his first title down under, but he won’t want to get too far ahead of himself.

First, he’ll play Zverev in the semifinals on Friday, January 30.