Carlos Alcaraz is looking to complete the Career Grand Slam at this year’s Australian Open.
At 21 years old, the Spaniard has already established himself as one of the best players on the ATP Tour and will be hoping to add the Australian Open title to his collection in 2025.
Alcaraz won the French Open, and Wimbledon in 2024, taking his Grand Slam tally to four, and won’t want to wait too long before claiming another Major title.
The world number three began the tournament strongly, as Alcaraz beat Alexander Shevchenko in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5, 6-1.
Next up was Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, who was no match for the Spaniard, as Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the Australian Open, dropping just five games.
A great performance, and one that may well have been aided by the conditions at this year’s tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz says the Australian Open courts are ‘fast’ in 2025
In his post-match press conference, Alcaraz was asked for his thoughts on how the tennis balls have felt at this year’s Australian Open.
“A little bit heavier,” he said.
“I can’t compare with last year, last year’s balls, last year, so for me was like two months already, I don’t remember a lot.
“I practice with different balls in the pre-season, they send me different balls.”
Alcaraz went on to describe what the conditions are like in Melbourne this year.
“The conditions are fast for me,” he said.
“The courts are fast, the conditions with the heat, it’s fast.”
The conditions clearly worked well for Alcaraz as he dismantled world number 65, Nishioka, 6-0, 6-1, 6-4.
The Spaniard’s serve was on fire throughout, winning 89% of points behind his first serve, hitting 14 aces along the way.
He was very impressed with his performance, as he looked ahead to the rest of the tournament.
“I think I played a really solid, solid match today,” said Alcaraz.
“I improved the things that I had to improve from the first match, just really, really happy with everything today.
“Yeah, a really good win, important win for me, three straight sets with a really high level, hopefully continue like this.”
What has Ben Shelton said about the conditions at the 2025 Australian Open?
Alcaraz isn’t the only top ATP star to have been asked about the conditions recently, as Ben Shelton gave his thoughts on the Australian Open courts, after his first-round win against Brandon Nakashima.
“I like the way that the court is playing in terms of the bounce,” he said.
“Obviously depending on where you play, everything is going to be different.
“You get an outside court, it’s going to be lightning and the balls are going to be skidding, but you play on a stadium like this one today, and you kind of got to adjust to slow balls getting heavy.”
Shelton played on 1573 arena for his first-round match against Nakashima, but is scheduled to take centre stage on Show Court Arena in the second-round against Pablo Carreno Busta.
Alcaraz on the other hand, has played both of his matches at this year’s Australian Open, on Margaret Court Arena.
The American and Spaniard are on opposite sides of the draw at this year’s tournament, meaning they cannot face one another unless they both qualify for the final.
Shelton will play Carreno Busta on Thursday, while Alcaraz will take on Portugal’s Nuno Borges on Friday.
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