Alcaraz passes Paul test to reach third straight Melbourne quarterfinal
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday night to reach the Australian Open quarterfinals for the third consecutive year. The 22-year-old world No 1 maintained his perfect set record this fortnight, overcoming an early break to stay on course for a historic career Grand Slam.
Carlos Alcaraz, Australian Open 2026 | © PsNewz
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5 to extend his dominant run in Melbourne and secure his 14th Grand Slam quarterfinal in just 20 appearances.
The Spaniard, seeded No 1, faced his most significant challenge of the week against the dangerous No 19 seed. Paul, 28, pushed Alcaraz to the limit in a high-octane encounter that lasted two hours and 44 minutes, but the world No 1 found his best form when it mattered most to preserve his flawless 12-0 set record for the tournament.
The Fourth Round matches (Sunday / Monday)
- Alcaraz (1) vs. Paul (19) – completed
- Bublik (10) vs. De Minaur (6)
- Zverev (3) vs. Cerundolo (18)
- Medvedev (11) vs. Tien (25)
___________________________ - Musetti (5) vs. Fritz (9)
- Djokovic (4) vs. Mensik (16)
- Shelton (8) vs. Ruud (12)
- Sinner (2) vs. Darderi (22)
“He totally outplayed me, Tommy Paul reacted. I guess the way that I would describe it is. He suffocates you in a way. He makes you feel like you have no time. He rushes you. Today he exposed my forehand, which I hit terribly, and he saw that early. He was trying to get in that forehand-to-forehand rally, and he did it much better than I did. That’s what it felt like. He got all the patterns he wanted, and I was having a tough time getting into the patterns that I wanted. Just too many errors. He had way less errors. It seemed like he raised his energy on the big points, and my energy was kind of dropping.”
Record-Breaking Win Rate and Marriage Proposals
The match was played in a lively atmosphere on Rod Laver Arena, where Alcaraz dealt with more than just Paul’s flat baseline hitting. The world No 1 received multiple marriage proposals from the crowd, with fans shouting, “Carlos marry my daughter,” “Marry my sister in law,” and a direct “Marry me.”
While the 22-year-old smiled through the distractions, his focus on court was statistically historic. With this victory, Alcaraz has now won 80.4% of his matches against seeded opponents at Grand Slams, surpassing Rafael Nadal (80.1%) for the best win rate in the Open Era (minimum 10 matches).
Paul started the stronger of the two, breaking early to lead 4-2 in the first set. However, Alcaraz recovered the break and survived a tense tiebreak, which ended abruptly when Paul double-faulted at 6-7.
Reflecting on the difficult start, Alcaraz said, “He started very strong, for me it was difficult, but I stayed there. It’s been a really high level of tennis from both side. Happy to make it in three sets.” The Spaniard followed up by clinching single breaks in the second and third sets to end the American’s run.
“I think I started out a lot better than he did, Paul confirmed. “That game in the first set at 4-3 that I got broken, I didn’t make one first serve. I just felt like when I needed to come up with first serves, I didn’t. Because of that, I think he took over in the match and took control. After that first set, it didn’t really feel – I didn’t see too many opportunities, and he closed the gap pretty quick.”
Chasing History in the Second Week
Alcaraz’s victory moves him one step closer to becoming the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. Having already triumphed in Paris (2024, 2025), London (2023, 2024), and New York (2022, 2025), an Australian Open title would see him surpass the records held by Rafael Nadal and Don Budge. So far, the top seed has been untouchable, dismissing the likes of No 32 seed Corentin Moutet (6-2, 6-4, 6-1) and Yannick Hanfmann without dropping a set.
The road ahead remains formidable as Alcaraz matches his best result in Melbourne. He now awaits the winner of the fourth-round clash between the home favorite and No 6 seed, Alex De Minaur, and the big-serving Kazakh Alexander Bublik, the No 10 seed. With 12 sets played and 12 sets won this week, Alcaraz looks in peak physical condition as he enters the business end of the tournament.
