Alcaraz storms past De Minaur into semi-finals

Carlos Alcaraz advanced past Alex de Minaur to reach his first Australian Open semi-final as the youngest player to have won a career grand prix.

De Minaur defeated the 22-year-old 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 to put an end to Australia’s hopes of a home singles champion for another year.

Alcaraz has won the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open twice in Melbourne, his sixth Grand Slam victory. This is his first time reaching the final four.

The Spaniard said he keeps improving as the tournament progresses despite not dropping a set at this year’s event.

“I’m enjoying the way I play here right now. Alcaraz, who will face German third seed Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals, said: “From the first round, I am increasing my level every match.”

De Minaur, who had five previous attempts, had failed to defeat world number one Alcaraz in the quest for his first Grand Slam semi-final.

De Minaur deftly captivated the audience with aggressive hitting in a tight opening set as he attempted to match the world number one’s speed and intensity.

After almost an hour on the court, he twice recovered from a break down before the top seed delivered the decisive blow, 6-5.

Pat Cash, a former champion at Wimbledon, described the first set as “some of the highest level tennis I’ve ever seen.”

According to Cash, “two players were striking balls from two or three feet behind the baseline,” they were refusing to back down.

“It pinged backwards and forwards like a video game.” There were chase backs, defensive lobs, drop shots, and other maneuvers, and there was everything. An incredible array of tennis.”

However, Alcaraz’s level of quality quickly increased, and De Minaur struggled to punch the serve of the six-time major champion.

Zverev thanked his serve earlier on Tuesday for guiding him past an “unbelievable” Learner Tien.

The 20-year-old Tien, who is 29th in the world, was attempting to become the youngest man to reach Melbourne’s final four in 34 years.

However, Zverev won the matchup 6-1 7-6 (7-3) at Rod Laver Arena, earning him a serving masterclass to advance to his 10th Grand Slam semi-final.

Zverev, who finished second overall in the previous year, scored only one double fault and earned 76% of his first-serve points.

With a non-returned serve, he managed to save each of his three break points.

Zverev said, “Learner was playing unbelievable from the beginning.”

“I don’t believe I’ve played anyone for a very long time who plays that well from the baseline.”

Zverev claimed this year’s Australian Open was his first “pain-free” game in a year.

The 28-year-old injured his ankle ligaments during his semi-final match against Rafael Nadal in 2022, which threatened to end his career. He missed six months of action because of the injury.

I haven’t felt this good in ten days, but I’ve been feeling good for ten days. After winning over Tien, Zaverev predicted that he would say that probably in a year.

Because I’m playing painlessly and at a high level, I feel happy on the court.

Since having double faults that had previously plagued his game, Zverev has improved his serve.

He averaged 5.9 double faults per match in the year that he reached the semi-finals of Melbourne and the US Open.