Alcaraz Stays Focused, Punches Ticket To Second Week Of Australian Open

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (photo: Jürgen Hasenkopf)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 23, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 1 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and his third-round opponent, French 32nd seed Corentin Moutet, are both big proponents of the drop shot. Although the two had never met on the ATP Tour before Friday’s Day 6 at the Australian Open, both Alcaraz and the lefty Moutet put on quite a display full of drop shots for the fans who filled Rod Laver Arena to appreciate.

While Alcaraz had yet to concede a set in his first two matches – against Aussie Adam Walton and Yannick Hanfmann of Germany – he met a good challenge in Moutet before winning, 6-2, 6-4, 6-1, in two hours and five minutes to reach the round of 16. It was Alcaraz’s 100th Grand Slam match. The victory lifted the six-time major champion’s Grand Slam win-loss record to 87-13, the same as Hall of Famer Bjorn Borg after 100 matches at the majors. He has surpassed Rafael Nadal and John McEnroe, who were both 86-14.

“Well, I think to maintain the focus in a Grand Slam is always difficult, but I think when you are facing these kinds of players, even more difficult,” Alcaraz said.

“When you don’t know what’s coming, he could do whatever he wants to do, so it’s just tricky. You can go a little bit farther on the court, but then right away he makes a drop shot. If you go forward, he goes with topspin. So, sometimes it’s just tricky.

“But, you know, I’m just happy, because I just got the good focus all the time. When the things that didn’t go to my side, just stayed there, and then trying to weigh my good moment again, my good rhythm, which I got in the second set.”

Alcaraz struck 30 winners to 20 unforced errors, compared to 18 winners and 34 unforced errors by Moutet. The 22-year-old Spaniard converted eight of 13 break points and saved two of four break points he faced.

Overall, Alcaraz outpointed Moutet 97-68 to advance to the fourth round on Sunday against 19th seed Tommy Paul of the United States, who advanced by retirement over No. 14 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain, leading 6-1, 6-1 after 59 minutes on John Cain Arena. A leg injury was cited as the reason for Davidovich Fokina’s retiring from the third-round match.

Free swinging Sabalenka fights her way into fourth round

World No. 1 and top seed Aryna Sabalenka has made the round of 16 or better in each of the last 12 Grand Slam events she has contested. Not since Roland-Garros in 2022, when she bowed in the third round, has the 27-year-old Belarusian not made it to the last 16. 

On Friday, the two-time AO champion Sabalenka opened play on Rod Laver Arena under sunny skies with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7) victory over 55th-ranked Anastasia Potapova, the former Russian who claimed Austrian citizenship during the off season.

Sabalenka increased her winning streak against opponents ranked outside the Top 10 on hard courts to 19 but it was a win she had to earn after Potapova rallied from down 0-4 in the second set and got the set to a tie-break. However, Sabalenka managed to save four set points and came back from down 3-6 to pull out the tie-break and won the match in straight sets.

With the comfort of knowing that Sabalenka cannot lose her No. 1 ranking across the Australian Open fortnight, she came out free swinging against Potapova and hit 34 winners by the conclusion of the two-hour and two-minute tussle but also committed 44 unforced errors. Sabalenka converted four of eight break points and outpointed Potapova 95-82.

During her on-court post-match interview, Sabalenka spoke in complimentary tones toward Potapova. “She played incredible tennis. I was always on the back foot,” she said. “To be honest, there are days when you have to be there and you have to fight and try your best to put the ball back on that side. I don’t know what was the key. I don’t think even though emotionally I was all over the place, I was still able to fight for every point. 

“Against Anastasia, it’s something really important that you always focus, you’re always there, you’re always fighting. I’m super happy that I was able to get this win. It was such a fight. I really enjoyed it.”

Sabalenka, who has won 23 of her last 24 matches at the Australian Open, improved to 8-0 this season after opening with a title victory in Brisbane.

Next, Sabalenka will face No. 17 seed Victoria Mboko of Canada, who outlasted No. 14 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark, 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3, in two hours and 19 minutes on John Cain Arena to reach her first Grand Slam fourth round. Against Tauson, Mboko overcame 33 winners from her opponent and 40 unforced errors she committed to win.

Around the Australian Open

The round of 16 is set in the top half of both the men’s and women’s singles draws. Here’s how it took shape:

• World No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany is on track for a potential semifinal meeting with World No. 1 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain after defeating the last-remaining British player, No. 26 seed Cameron Norrie in four sets, 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in two hours and 46 minutes on John Cain Arena. It was Zverev’s seventh career win in seven meetings with the British No. 2 and he did it with a performance that included 16 aces and 59 winners against 29 unforced errors. Next, Zverev plays No. 18 seed Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, who produced the biggest upset of the day on the men’s side with his straight-set 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over No. 13 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, two hours and eight minutes on KIA Arena.

“I was up for the task today,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “Cameron, I thought, probably played the best match that we’ve ever played, just level-wise. Happy with the win and happy to move forward.”

Meanwhile, No. 11 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia avoided defeat when he fought back from two sets down for the fifth time in his career to beat Hungary’s 47th-ranked Fabrian Marozsan, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3, in three hours and 43 minutes on Margaret Court Arena. Next for Medvedev, an AO rematch with No. 25 seed Learner Tien of the United States, who was too good for No. 46 Nuno Borges of Portugal, and made it a quartet of Americans to get through to the fourth round. Tien prevailed 7-6 (9), 6-4, 6-2, in two hours and four minutes on KIA Arena.

Also, No. 6 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia kept home hopes alive with his straight-set, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory over No. 29 seed Frances Tiafoe of the United States, in two hours and 43 minutes on Rod Laver Arena. De Minaur’s next opponent will be No. 10 seed Alexander Bublik, who fired 21 aces in his 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over No. 62 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina that lasted two hours and 37 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

• The biggest surprise on the women’s side Friday was turned in by 18-year-old American Iva Jovic. The 29th-seed from California upset World No. 7 Jasmine Paolini of Italy, 6-2, 7-6 (3), on John Cain Arena to garner her first Top-10 win. After reaching the semifinals in Auckland and the final in Hobart during her AO lead-up earlier this month – and in just her sixth Grand Slam main draw – she’s now into the last 16 at a major for the first time.  She will be a favorite Sunday in her fourth-round match against No. 94 Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan, who ended the run of 112th-ranked Turkish qualifier Zeynep Sonmez, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3.

“It feels amazing. I’ve been wanting this [Top 10 win] for a while now,” Jovic said. “I just tried to focus on what I was doing, being really aggressive and controlling the play. When I served for it, I got a little too passive. I told myself to go out swing, and it helped in the tiebreak.”

Meanwhile, No. 3 seed Coco Gauff came from a set down for the first time during the Australian fortnight to beat fellow 70th-ranked American Hailey Baptiste, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, in one hour and 50 minutes on Margaret Court Arena. Next, She will play No. 19 seed Karolina Muchova of Czechia, who dropped just two games against No. 50 Magda Linette of Poland in her 6-1, 6-1, 63-minute victory on KIA Arena.

Also, No. 12 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine took down No. 23 seed Diana Shnaider of Russia, 7-6 (4), 6-3, and will face another Russian in the fourth round, after No. 8 seed Mirra Andreeva defeated No. 79 Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 36 minutes on Rod Laver Arena, the last match of the day to be completed.

Upsets prevail in men’s and mixed doubles

• The top-seeded men’s doubles team of Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain were upset in the second round by Australian wild cards James McCabe and Li Tu, 7-6 (5), 6-4, in one hour and 25 minutes on ANZ Arena. The Australian duo combined to hit 16 aces, won 81 percent of their first-serve points and hit 33 winners. They outpointed Cash and Glasspool 68-66.

• Meanwhile, women’s top seeds Katerina Siniakova of Czechia and Taylor Townsend of the United States defeated China’s Xu Yifan and Yang Zhaoxuan, 7-6 (7), 6-1, in one hour and 27 minutes on Court 6. Siniakova and Townsend outpointed their opponents 73-51.

• Finally, mixed doubles is underway and top-seeded Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy were bounced in the opening round by Laura Siegemund of Germany and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France, 6-4, 6-2, in one hour and 12 minutes on Court 8. Siegemund and Roger-Vasselin combined to hit 26 winners and outpointed their opponents 57-43.

Friday’s Australian Open results

Saturday’s Australian Open order of play

Early start set for Saturday

With high temperatures forecast for Saturday – expected to exceed 100º Fahrenheit (+40º Celsius) play will start an hour early across all courts, including Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena, which will begin at 10:30 a.m. Play on all other courts will start at 10 a.m. 

“We expect pleasant conditions tomorrow morning, in the mid-20s (Celsius), and will start play earlier and take advantage of the more temperature conditions,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said in a statement.

However, the temperature is expected to rise to the low 30s by the middle of the day and peak in the late afternoon.

Quick hits

As the women’s singles draw reached the third round, it’s not too much of a surprise that the United States still has seven women of the 32 who remain. However, it might come as a surprise that there are five from Czechia – second most behind the Americans. While some of the names are familiar – No. 13 seed Linda Noskova, No. 19 seed Karolina Muchova and former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova, who has returned from a lengthy injury absence. However, the other two – Tereza Valentova and qualifier Nikola Bartunkova – are fresh talent who are making their names known among players and fans at Melbourne Park.

The 54th-ranked Valentova, just 18, knocked out Australian No. 1 and 30th seed Maya Joint, 6-4, 6-4, in the first round. Then, she eliminated fellow Czech Linda Fruhvirtova, a qualifier ranked 132nd, 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 to advance against No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan on Saturday.

 

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Meanwhile, the 126th-ranked Bartunkova snapped 10th-seeded Swiss Belinda Bencic‘s 12-match winning streak Thursday evening with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-4 victory. It was her first Top-10 triumph. Although the 19-year-old doesn’t have pure power in her groundstrokes, she still struck 40 winners, converted five of nine break points and was dominant at the net, where she won 17 of 26 exchanges. Not bad for her first career Grand Slam event, in which she had to qualify just to gain entry into the main draw. 

Despite being outpointed 77-74, Bartunkova won the match and advanced to face No. 21 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium on Saturday. Earlier, Bartunkova beat No. 43 Daria Kasatkina of Australia in the first round in three sets.

 

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Bartunkova, who was a 2023 Wimbledon junior girls’ finalist, gave an inspired performance against Bencic and was thrilled by the outcome. So were the Czech fans who waved flags and celebrated wholeheartedly on ANZ Arena.

“It was a dream come true because it was an unbelievable match from me,” Bartunkova said afterward, quoted by the WTA Tour website. 

By the numbers

• Stan Wawrinka‘s 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (10-3) second-round victory over French qualifier Arthur Gea was the 49th five-set match of the 40-year-old Swiss star’s career at Grand Slam events. He surpassed Roger Federer (48) for the outright-most of any player in the Open Era. The Ironman Wawrinka was on KIA Arena for four hours and 33 minutes – easily the longest match of Day 5 at Melbourne Park. Next, Wawrinka will face No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz of the United States in the third round on Saturday.

• According to OptaAce, No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland is the first player in the Open Era to reach the third round (round of 32) of the first 24 women’s singles Grand Slam events of a single decade.

“Quotable …”

“Just fantastic to be in this position. Obviously, different careers, different times. We are both different kinds of players. But also, in order to achieve this number of victories you have to be so consistent for so many years.”

– Marin Cilic of Croatia, who garnered his 599th tour-level victory on Thursday against No. 21 seed Denis Shapovalov of Canada, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2, in two hours and nine minutes on 1573 Arena, to advance to the third round against No. 12 seed Casper Ruud of Norway. Cilic is now tied with fellow Croatian Goran Ivanisevic for the most victories of any player from their country in the Open Era.

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