Australian Open: Alcaraz advances to R3, continues march towards Career Grand Slam

Carlos Alcaraz just crushed his match against Nishioka in a jaw-dropping performance at the Australian Open, barely breaking a sweat. The young Spanish tennis sensation is looking unstoppable, with a perfect record against left-handed players and an incredible serving game that's getting better by the minute. He's not just playing to win, but strategically conserving energy for his larger goal of potentially becoming the youngest player to secure every Grand Slam title. With his next challenge against Nuno Borges, Alcaraz seems poised to continue his remarkable tournament run.

"I think the less time you spend on the court at the Grand Slams, especially at the beginning of the other tournament, I think it is going to be better" - Carlos Alcaraz

by ANI January 15, 2025 77 views

Australian Open: Alcaraz advances to R3, continues march towards Career Grand Slam

Melbourne, January 15: Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz continued his pursuit of a Career Grand Slam as the reached the third round of the ongoing Australian Open on Wednesday with a win over Yoshihito Nishioka.

Key Points

1. Alcaraz secures dominant 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Nishioka

2. Perfect 8-0 record against left-handed players at Grand Slams

3. Impressive serving performance highlights match strategy

In a stunning display of tennis, Alcaraz mixed power and touch to perfection as he overwhelmed Nishioka by 6-0, 6-1, 6-4. During the opening set, he dropped just four points and also secured the win in his first nine games before dropping one finally. The match lasted 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 other tournament, I think it is going to be better, especially physically. I am feeling great. I just tried to be focused on spending as little time as I can."

Alcaraz extended his record against left-handed players at Grand Slams to 8-0 and hit 14 aces without facing a break point, as compared to four break points faced during the first-round win against Alexander Shevchenko. He was extremely happy with his serve, having worked on it since pre-season.

"I am really happy with the service today. This is something that I worked on in the preseason. In the first round I struggled a little bit, so I was not too happy with the serve. Yesterday I was more focused on practising the serve. I spent more time just serving with Juan Carlos Ferrero (his coach), with my team, and it is something that I really want to be better at. So I am just glad that today it worked pretty well. Hopefully, in the next round, it is going to be better," he said.

After securing a 2-0 lead in ATP Head-to-Head record against Nishioka, Alcaraz's next challenge will be Nuno Borges in the third round as he pursues the record of becoming the youngest player to secure every Grand Slam title at the age of 21.