Carlos Alcaraz reaches Australian Open semi-finals with victory over Alex de Minaur
Carlos Alcaraz stormed into the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time after dismantling home favourite Alex de Minaur in straight sets on Tuesday, reports BritPanorama.
The Spanish world number one delivered a commanding 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 victory at Rod Laver Arena, silencing the partisan Melbourne crowd. With this performance, the 22-year-old now stands just two matches away from achieving a remarkable milestone.
Victory in his remaining fixtures would make Alcaraz the youngest player in history to secure the career Grand Slam. He will next meet third seed Alexander Zverev for a place in the final, having yet to drop a set throughout the tournament.
The opening set proved a tightly contested affair, with both players trading service breaks. De Minaur twice retrieved breaks to level the score, much to the delight of the centre court crowd. However, the Australian’s hopes faded when he failed to convert a fourth set point in the 12th game. From that moment, Alcaraz took complete control, conceding just two break points across the remaining sets, neither of which De Minaur could convert.
Alcaraz expressed satisfaction with his progress, stating, “I’m just really happy with the way that I’m playing every match. I was increasing my level every match, which I’m really happy about. After the first match my team told me to be patient. Today I felt really comfortable playing great tennis.” Looking ahead to his semi-final opponent, he acknowledged the challenge awaiting him: “I’ve seen Sascha through the whole tournament and I know he’s playing great tennis. I have to be ready.”
For De Minaur, this defeat extends his record to 0-7 at the quarter-final stage of major tournaments. The 26-year-old reflected on another loss to an elite opponent, noting, “At the Australian Open I’ve lost to Rafa, Novak, Jannik twice, now Carlos. I’m not losing too many matches to players I possibly shouldn’t lose to.” Despite the setback, De Minaur remains determined, asserting that “you’ve just got to keep on moving.”
The tournament moves into its final stretch, and with Alcaraz’s continued success, the tennis world will be watching closely how his pursuit of history unfolds.
