Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz continued his pursuit of a Career Grand Slam, reaching the third round of the ongoing Australian Open on Wednesday with a dominant win over Yoshihito Nishioka.
In a stunning display of tennis, Alcaraz blended power and finesse to perfection, overwhelming Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4. During the opening set, he dropped just four points and won his first nine games before Nishioka managed to secure one. The match lasted only an hour and 22 minutes.
Speaking about the match, as quoted by the official ATP website, Alcaraz said, “I think the less time you spend on the court at the Grand Slams, especially at the beginning of the tournament, the better it is, especially physically. I am feeling great. I just tried to focus on spending as little time on court as possible.”
Alcaraz extended his unbeaten record against left-handed players at Grand Slams to 8-0, hitting 14 aces and not facing a single break point—an improvement compared to the four break points he faced during his first-round win against Alexander Shevchenko. The Spaniard expressed satisfaction with his serve, having worked on it extensively during the preseason.
“I am really happy with my serve today. It’s something I focused on in the preseason. In the first round, I struggled a bit and wasn’t too happy with my serve. Yesterday, I spent more time practising my serve with Juan Carlos Ferrero (my coach) and my team. It’s an area I want to improve. I’m just glad it worked well today, and hopefully, it’ll be even better in the next round,” Alcaraz shared.
After securing a 2-0 lead in the ATP Head-to-Head record against Nishioka, Alcaraz will face Nuno Borges in the third round. The young star continues his quest to become the youngest player to achieve a Career Grand Slam by the age of 21.