dyton mupawaenda
NOVAK Djokovic reached the Australian Open tennis tournament quarter-finals without striking a ball yesterday after his last-16 opponent Jakub Mensik withdrew.
The pair were due to play in a night match on centre court today, but “super sad” Czech star Mensik pulled out injured.
Carlos Alcaraz stepped up his bid for a maiden Australian Open title with a masterclass to reach the quarter-finals on Sunday by dismissing the American Tommy Paul.
The six-time Grand Slam champion won 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 7-5 to equal his best run in Melbourne and is yet to drop a set.
The Spanish top seed plays home hope and sixth seed Alex de Minaur or 10th seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for a place in the last four.
If Alcaraz, 22, can break his Australian duck he will become the youngest man in history to win a career Grand Slam of all four majors.
“He started really strong, really strong shots, it was a bit difficult at the start,” he said.
“But I knew I would have my chances.
“Overall it has been a really high level of tennis from both sides, really happy I got it in straight sets.”
The encounter at Rod Laver Arena took place in significantly cooler conditions compared to Saturday, when temperatures approached 400C and matches on outside courts were suspended.
Alcaraz suffered the worst possible start, his serve broken in the first game by the 19th-seeded Paul.
Alcaraz saw two break points on the American’s serve come and go, Paul forging a surprise 3-1 lead.
The Spaniard had Paul under pressure again in the eighth game, Alcaraz this time grasping the chance to break and level the set.
They went to a tiebreak and it was finely poised at 3-3 when a medical emergency in the crowd brought a halt to play for about 15 minutes.
The interruption seemed to hurt Paul more, double-faulting to gift Alcaraz the set.
Alcaraz carried the momentum into the second set, breaking once to move to within a set of victory.
It was just a matter of time after that, Alcaraz sealing an emphatic win in two hours and 44 minutes.
Alcaraz has been especially strong on serve, surprising even himself with how clean he is on his first serve in particular.
“In general in the four matches the serve has been a really important weapon for me,” he said.
Alcaraz’s new-look serve has been compared to Djokovic and the Serbian great joked in Melbourne that he is expecting a slice of the Spaniard’s winnings.
Alcaraz has in the past struggled with precision and a lack of consistency in his serving technique.
Last year’s Australian Open runner-up, Alexander Zverev, stayed on track in his bid for an elusive maiden Grand Slam title, beating Francisco Cerundolo 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park yesterday.
The 28-year-old German has lost all three Grand Slam title clashes he has contested, including last year’s final to Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park, and has flown under the radar this time as he seeks another opportunity.
“I’m very happy with the match and the performance. Really happy to be back in the quarter-finals,” Zverev said on court, dodging a question on whether he is playing his best tennis.
“I don’t want to jinx it, I’ll keep my mouth shut. But you have to play at a high level to reach the quarter-finals. I hope to continue the same way.”
Dragged to four sets in each of his three previous rounds, the third seed made a blistering start to race through the first two sets on John Cain Arena and used all his experience to seal his most convincing win so far.
Cerundolo, the 16th seed, briefly threatened to make a match of it when he recovered a break late in the second set, but there was no stopping Zverev, who absorbed the pressure and pushed his opponent into a corner with plenty of variations in his game.
“I’m playing a bit more serve and volley, more drop shots,” Zverev said. “I’m trying to do things that the two best players in the world are doing. I thought last year was terrible for me. I just hope this will be better.
“I’m as healthy as I’ve been in the last 12 months. I struggled a lot last year, I played through injuries. When I’m healthy, I feel better on court and everything comes along and becomes a bit easier.
“Hopefully I’ll have three more tough matches and I hope I can stay that way.”
With vociferous Argentine fans egging him on, Cerundolo came out swinging in the third set and produced some stunning volleys early on, but Zverev broke again for a 4-3 lead and powered into the last-eight of a major for the 16th time. Zverev plays Learner Tien next.
Tien battled through a nosebleed to thrash three-time finalist Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open yesterday and make a Grand Slam quarter-final for the first time.
The 20-year-old American, who capped a breakout 2025 by winning the ATP Next Gen title, crushed the Russian 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 in just 1hr 42 mins on Margaret Court Arena. — SuperSport.
Online Reporter