Carlos Alcaraz was on fire against Alex de Minaur in the Australian Open quarterfinals.
But he didn’t have things all his own way…
Spurred on by the Australian fans on Rod Laver Arena, home favorite De Minaur pushed Alcaraz close in the first set, narrowly slipping behind 5-7.
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Unfortunately for De Minaur, he failed to maintain that level throughout the remainder of the match.
Booking his place in the semifinals, Alcaraz defeated De Minaur 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.
Weighing in with his thoughts after the match, former Wimbledon champion Pat Cash noted the tactical change Alcaraz made that powered him to victory.
Pat Cash says Carlos Alcaraz ‘slowed the ball down’ after a tight first set against Alex de Minaur
During commentary for BBC Radio 5 Live, Cash explained the adjustment Alcaraz made midway through the opening set.
“Great performance today, there were some tricky moments in that first set, [Alex] De Minaur came in here with his best form ever, playing great tennis,” he said.
“But a change of tactics midway through that first set just started to unsettle the De Minaur rhythm.
“Just slowing the ball down a little bit, getting a bit more topspin on the ball, forcing De Minaur to use his own pace, as opposed to [Carlos] Alcaraz’s pace.
“He’s just clever, he’s got so much variety and options to change.
“Slowed the ball down, got the ball up, it was still a struggle through that first set, but it just unsettled Alex’s rhythm, forcing him to go a little harder on those slow balls, which he thought were great opportunities for him to attack, and they were, but they didn’t land all the time and when they did, Alcaraz was there, forcing him to go a little harder, and then the errors started coming, coming, and coming.
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“You walk away with that scoreline, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1, that’s nothing short of an a– whooping.”
The win was Alcaraz’s sixth in a row against De Minaur, as he continues to dominate the world number six.
Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur’s head-to-head record
| Match | Winner | Loser | Score |
| 2026 Australian Open – QF | Carlos Alcaraz | Alex de Minaur | 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 |
| 2025 ATP Finals – RR | Carlos Alcaraz | Alex de Minaur | 7-6, 6-2 |
| 2025 Barcelona Open – QF | Carlos Alcaraz | Alex de Minaur | 7-5, 6-3 |
| 2025 Rotterdam Open – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Alex de Minaur | 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 |
| 2023 Queen’s Club Championships – F | Carlos Alcaraz | Alex de Minaur | 6-4, 6-4 |
| 2022 Barcelona Open – QF | Carlos Alcaraz | Alex de Minaur | 6-7, 7-6, 6-4 |
Cash continued, recalling how De Minaur’s game broke down as the match progressed.
“The first set was some of the highest-level tennis I’ve ever seen. Hitting balls from two or three feet behind the baseline, it was like a video game, backwards and forwards,” he said.
“So quick, dropshots, defensive lobs, chase backs, it had everything, it was an unbelievable set of tennis.
“Alcaraz broke twice, De Minaur came back, and the crowd got involved in it. Then De Minaur came out in the first game [of the second set] playing really well, aggressively again, a few little mini opportunities.
“I thought, how can he possibly keep this up? He’s got to keep this level up.
“As soon as we thought that, the wheels just fell off, and Alcaraz just didn’t retreat.
“Started hitting winners more cleanly, made quite a lot of errors on the backhand in the first set, surprisingly, and then they stopped.
“There was just winner after winner, and errors came from De Minaur.”
It just wasn’t De Minaur’s day on Rod Laver Arena.
Alex de Minaur has now lost six Grand Slam quarterfinals
The Australian number one began today with a 0-5 record in major quarterfinals.
Losing to Alcaraz, that record slipped to 0-6.
Alex de Minaur’s Grand Slam quarterfinal record
- 2020 US Open QF – Lost to Dominic Thiem (three sets)
- 2024 French Open QF – Lost to Alexander Zverev (three sets)
- 2024 Wimbledon QF – Walkover
- 2024 US Open QF – Lost to Jack Draper (three sets)
- 2025 Australian Open QF – Lost to Jannik Sinner (three sets)
- 2025 US Open QF – Lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime (four sets)
- 2026 Australian Open QF – Lost to Carlos Alcaraz (three sets)
Worryingly, not only is De Minaur 0-6 in Grand Slam quarterfinals, he’s 1-18 in Grand Slam quarterfinal sets.
While the Aussie has become a regular in the second week of majors, he’s yet to produce a performance worthy of reaching a Slam semifinal.
Perhaps he will do so at the next Grand Slam, the French Open.
The 2026 French Open will begin on Sunday, May 24.
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