Carlos Alcaraz showed his strength at the Australian Open and is moving toward his goal of becoming the youngest player to win a Grand Slam tournament.
Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff had a rocky road to Friday’s Australian Open fourth round, but the road was paved with gold in Carlos Alcaraz’s 100th Grand Slam match.
The TikTok generation had a moment in the sun at Melbourne Park, a day after 40-year-old Stan Wawrinka led a parade of heroes yesterday to reach the third round.
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American 18-year-old Iva Jovic defeated No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 7-6 (3), Canada’s 19-year-old Victoria Mboko defeated No. 14 seed Clara Thorson to set up a last-16 blockbuster with two-time champion Sabalenka and beat Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7).
Alcaraz produced highlights, crushing French drop shot merchant Corentin Moutet 6-2, 6-4, 6-1, while 21-year-old Gauff bounced back from losing the first set of the tournament to dominate fellow American Hayley Baptiste 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
Chasing his first title at Melbourne Park, 22-year-old Alcaraz is looking to become the youngest player to win all four majors and looked unstoppable in the first week.
In the second game at Rod Laver Arena, he drove in a lob on a tweener and hit a passing shot down the line to clinch what looked like the rally of the tournament against the flamboyant Moutet.
The 32nd-seeded Mutet, no slouch, fell victim to Alcaraz’s magic show, becoming the 14th victim in the Spaniard’s unbeaten run against left-handers.
Despite the easy win, Alcaraz joked that chasing Moutet’s drop shots became a chore.
“I thought it was a drop shot competition, but he definitely won,” he said.
Sabalenka is the favorite to win the women’s title, but at Rod Laver Arena, she had a strong performance on center court and had a fierce battle with Russian-born world No. 55 Potapova, who is representing her second country Austria.
Potapova had four set points in the second frame but lost them all, while Sabalenka won on her first match point.
She extended her incredible undefeated streak in tiebreakers to 21 after winning 19 in a row last season.
“We know that in the tiebreak every ball is important. We can’t lose concentration for even a second because the balls will disappear very quickly,” Sabalenka told reporters.
“So you have to give 100 percent. That’s my approach. Just take it one point at a time.”
Daniil Medvedev, who has appeared in the men’s final three times, also gained confidence after a tense victory.
He became the first player to win from two sets down in this tournament with a 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, 6-3 victory over Fabian Marozzan of Hungary in the opening match at Margaret Court Arena.
Medvedev, who lost in the second round last year to a young American, will be looking for revenge when he faces Lerner Tien for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Mboko, one of the brightest young talents in women’s tennis, reached the fourth round in her Australian Open main draw debut, defeating Towson 7-5, 5-7, 6-3.
But that was the end of Turkey’s joy at Melbourne Park as the crafty Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan stopped Zeynep Sonmez in a close contest in three sets.
Melbourne’s strong Turkish community red-flagged the Kia Arena in droves to support the world No. 112 Sonmez, but Putintseva gleefully teased them by blowing kisses and dancing near her seats after her victory.
“What can I do? It’s just that some people are educated in tennis and unfortunately others are not,” she told reporters, accusing rowdy Sonmez fans of trying to stop her serving.
Tommy Paul, the 19th seed, progressed smoothly to the fourth round after Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina left with an injury after leading 6-1, 6-1, but will now face a brick wall in Alcaraz.
Czech 19th seed Karolina Muchova defeated Poland’s Magda Lynette 6-1, 6-1 to book a round-of-16 encounter with Gauff.
Australia’s promising sixth seed Alex de Minaur will take on America’s Francis Tiafoe in a prime-time evening slot at Rod Laver Arena, while third seed Alex Zverev will face British dangerman Cameron Norrie in a night match at John Cain Arena.
