ATP Tour
Alcaraz passes Paul take a look at to e book Australian Open QF spot, faces De Minaur subsequent
De Minaur dispatches Bublik in straight units
January 25, 2026
Peter Staples
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Tommy Paul on Sunday in Melbourne.
By Andy West
Carlos Alcaraz confronted the sternest take a look at of his 2026 Australian Open thus far on Sunday afternoon, however the No. 1 participant within the PIF ATP Rankings overcame the problem of Tommy Paul to take care of his commanding begin to the hard-court main in Melbourne.
Alcaraz overcame nineteenth seed Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 with a fourth-round efficiency filled with explosive shotmaking to enhance to 12-0 in units performed thus far this fortnight. Paul, proprietor of two Lexus ATP Head2Head victories in opposition to the Spaniard, rapidly showcased the menace he posed by opening a 4-2 lead early inside Rod Laver Enviornment. But Alcaraz quickly recovered and produced some scintillating tennis to succeed in his third consecutive Australian Open quarter-final.
World No. 1 issues 🔥@carlosalcaraz defeats Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 to return to the quarter-finals.@AustralianOpen | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/cnTEtNaIuS
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 25, 2026
“I believe he began fairly robust. Within the first sport, serving, I assumed I performed a very good sport, however he got here with actually robust pictures, actually flat, and for me it was a bit troublesome,” mentioned Alcaraz in his on-court interview. “However I stayed there on a regular basis and I knew I used to be going to have my probabilities, and I attempted to take them. I believe I did that.
“Total, I believe it was a extremely excessive stage of tennis from each side, however I’m simply actually pleased that I acquired it in straight units.”
The 22-year-old prime seed fired 35 winners, in line with Infosys Stats, en path to sealing a last-eight assembly with residence favorite Alex de Minaur at Melbourne Park. Together with his two-hour, 44-minute victory, Alcaraz additionally stayed on monitor to turn out to be the youngest man to finish the Profession Grand Slam (successful the singles title in any respect 4 majors). The present holder of that report is his countryman Rafael Nadal.
In a good first set, Alcaraz needed to battle again from the early break deficit as 2023 semi-finalist Paul went toe to toe with the highly effective Spaniard from the baseline. Within the subsequent tie-break, Paul fired a backhand down the road to fend off a set level at 5/6 that proved to be one of many highlights of the match, however the American rapidly undermined that effort by gifting Alcaraz the set with a double fault at 6/7.
With the momentum firmly in his favour, Alcaraz rode a purple patch to clinch a break of serve within the third sport of the second set. The 24-time tour-level titlist produced a sequence of winners off his forehand particularly that had the Rod Laver Enviornment crowd gasping on the mixture of spin and sheer velocity.
Paul, who gained 5 of his first seven matches this season after not competing for the ultimate three months of the 2025 season as a result of damage, continued to battle in trademark trend in pursuit of his fifth Grand Slam quarter-final. Nonetheless, though the 28-year-old didn’t lack moments of high quality of his personal, he was unable to maintain any actual strain on Alcaraz as soon as the primary set was gone.
After saving three break factors to carry serve for 2-1 within the third sport of the third set, Paul was unable to repeat the escape within the eleventh sport. Alcaraz crucially claimed his third break of the match earlier than serving out to enhance to 6-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head sequence with Paul.
De Minaur booked his spot within the quarter-finals for the second time with a cushty 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win in opposition to tenth seed Alexander Bublik, who had no solutions for the Australian on Rod Laver Enviornment.
“I knew what I used to be in for at present,” De Minaur mentioned. “Bublik is a hell of a participant. He has a lot firepower and I misplaced to him the previous couple of occasions. I made positive I used to be able to go from the primary level to the final and I used to be locked in. It was all about neutralising his huge groundstrokes and doing my finest to get him on the transfer and all of it sort of labored completely.”
Again-to-back AO quarter-finals for @alexdeminaur 🔥@AustralianOpen | #AO26
pic.twitter.com/msc2Zv0IDR
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 25, 2026
The sixth seed soaked up every part Bublik threw at him, monitoring down drop pictures and demonstrating quick reactions to repel the 28-year-old’s big-man tennis. Together with his win, De Minaur defeated a High 10 participant at a serious for simply the third time, whereas he additionally equalled his finest outcome at a Slam.
The 26-year-old holds a 0-5 report in main quarter-finals however will hope to vary that report when he meets Alcaraz. He has dropped only one set this week in Melbourne.
“I believe the final two matches I’ve performed I’ve hit the ball extraordinarily nicely and am extraordinarily happy with my stage,” De Minaur mentioned. “I believe I’m doing every part I need on the courtroom and I’m excited for the following one, that’s going to be an enormous one. I’m going to have to return out right here weapons blazing and I’m excited for a battle.”
