By Nick Mulvenney
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Third seed Carlos Alcaraz dropped his first set of the tournament but still safely secured his passage into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-2 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 victory over Nuno Borges on Friday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard has quietly but authoritatively gone about his business in the first week at Melbourne as teenagers ousted seeds, Jannik Sinner progressed in his title defence and Novak Djokovic in his quest for a 25th major crown.
Two conversions from four break points were enough for him to take the first set, one from one handed him the second, before the experienced Portuguese number one snatched the momentum back at the end of the third.
Borges blew one set point at 6-5 by going long with a return but made no mistake in the tiebreak to claim the set and leave Alcaraz seething in his chair.
The four-times Grand Slam champion came out in the fourth set like a man on a mission, breaking at the first opportunity for 2-0 with a spectacular over-the-shoulder pass from the back of the court.
A huge roar of “Vamos!” echoed over the sunbathed Rod Laver Arena and from that point Alcaraz’s place in the fourth round for the 11th time in 16 Grand Slam campaigns looked assured.
The remainder of the set from Alcaraz was venomous serving, a few sumptuous drop shots and the customary barrage of forehand winners, the 35th of which brought up match point after just under three hours on court.
“I missed Rod Laver Arena,” Alcaraz said after the world number 33 had dumped the final shot of the match into the net.
“I’m just really happy to be able to play here once again and show my best tennis here. It’s been a pleasure whenever I step on this court, it’s a beautiful court. The last time I played here, I lost so I really wanted a win here.”
Alcaraz will next face Britain’s Jack Draper or local hopeful Aleks Vukic in the fourth round on Sunday.
He already has two Wimbledon crowns and one title each at the U.S. and French Open so the Australian Open, where his best result was his quarter-final appearance last year, would count as his least successful Grand Slam.
Tattoos commemorate his triumphs at the other three majors and Alcaraz confirmed he has plans for a bit more ink if he wins the title in Melbourne.
“It’ll be a kangaroo,” he said on court to cheers from the crowd.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney: Editing by Stephen Coates)
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