Carlos Alcaraz states what he found really ‘tricky’ about his first round win at the Australian Open

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Carlos Alcaraz is into the second round of the Australian Open, thus kickstarting his conquest for the career Grand Slam with a strong start.

The Spaniard has not been shy in vocalising his desire for this ultimate goal, and although he will have another chance to be the youngest to ever complete it, he will not want to wait around.

Alas, he was certainly troubled in his first-round clash with Adam Walton, despite the straight-sets nature of his eventual triumph.

His opponent stuck with him throughout, particularly in the second set, where he managed to drag Carlos Alcaraz into a tiebreak.

Alas, the quality of the world number one told, and he spoke on-court about how he felt throughout the match.

Carlos Alcaraz reacts to reaching the Australian Open second round

Alcaraz first rated his level, chatting with Jim Courier, and admitted: “Well, yeah, first of all, I’m just really, really happy to step on the court once again, for the first time of the season officially, and it couldn’t be better being here at the Rod Laver Arena.

“So it’s been a good match, I guess, so I just felt great. I think Adam, you know, I think pulled off great shots, great level in the, so I had to stay there.

How would you feel if Juan Carlos Ferrero returned to coach Carlos Alcaraz now?

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“I think this kind of level and that difficulty, you know, in the first round is pretty good for me to get ready for the next one. Overall, I’m just happy, I’m pleased about the level that I played today.”

He then reserved special praise for the awkwardness of his opponent, adding: “Well, it seems like he doesn’t move that well, but you know, at the end, for me, it was really, really difficult to find, you know, the good spot. It feels like, you know, if he was one step ahead to me, that he was always in a good position.

“You know, long rallies, [he] was solid from the baseline and, you know, his flat ball sometimes it was really difficult for me. It was tricky getting used to the conditions on the court.

“But I think, yeah, it was a really solid match. When he was able to just stay on the court and play aggressive, I think he made it really, really difficult, not only the second set, but in the match in general.”

Alcaraz’s desperation to complete the career Grand Slam might have an impact on his performances early on, but once he starts to gather momentum, it will be interesting to see how the dynamic shifts.

Carlos Alcaraz’s projected run to the Australian Open final

Having beaten Walton in the first round, Alcaraz has now set up a second-round clash at the Australian Open with Yannick Hanfmann.

Should he beat the German, it’s expected that Corentin Moutet will be waiting, particularly after Seb Korda’s surprise early exit.

This marks an admittedly easy opening three rounds for the 22-year-old, but the difficult should ramp up in the fourth round, where one of Tommy Paul or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is expected to be.

The top players in his quarter remain Alex de Minaur and Alexander Bublik, whilst the earliest he could meet Alexander Zverev is in the semis.

Then, in predictable fashion, Jannik Sinner will almost definitely be a finalist come the end of this tournament.