Carlos Alcaraz has battled his way into a maiden Australian Open semifinal after knocking out Alex de Minaur.
Alcaraz was impressed by De Minaur, but ultimately he stormed past the Australian in their Melbourne quarterfinal with relative ease.
The Spaniard won 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 at Rod Laver Arena, moving beyond the Australian Open quarterfinals for the first time in his career.
ATP number one Alcaraz now turns his attention to a semifinal with Alexander Zverev, who lost the 2025 final to Jannik Sinner.
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Mats Wilander highlights Carlos Alcaraz’s ‘strange’ Australian Open record
Zverev is into his fourth Australian Open semifinal, with former world number one Mats Wilander shocked that Alcaraz is only just making his debut at that stage.
He told TNT Sports: “He should have [got to more Australian Open semifinals] but a lot of players have one place where they don’t feel that comfortable, and it could have something to do with the surface, something to do with the weather, something to do with the schedule.
“I think a lot of guys didn’t do necessarily that well in Australia because it comes early in the year, and they might not be as prepared, or they need coffee.
“So, it’s not that strange to me, but when you see him playing like this, then suddenly, it is very strange.”
The Australian Open has indeed been Alcaraz’s weakest Grand Slam, with the Spaniard winning each of the other three major tournaments twice.
He can, therefore, complete the career Grand Slam with success in Melbourne, where he has yet to drop a set thus far this year.
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Carlos Alcaraz reacts after reaching first Australian Open semifinal
Alcaraz is currently playing at his fifth career Australian Open, and he is certainly trending in the right direction.
But a first-ever semifinal clearly means a lot to the 22-year-old, who shared images of his latest win on Instagram with the words: “First time in the semis!”
It has arrived after back-to-back quarterfinal finishes in 2024 and 2025, followed by second and third round exits in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
And Alcaraz missed the 2023 Australian Open entirely, withdrawing from the hard-court Grand Slam with a leg injury.
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