Carlos Alcaraz will not have needed to draw too much on his reserves. This Sunday on the Rod Laver Arena, Jack Draper was forced to give up after the second set while the Spaniard led two sets to zero (7-5, 6-1). The first big test of this 2025 Australian Open for the world number 3 will therefore have come to an end. But “Carlitos” will at least have time to rest and prepare for their quarter-final which promises to be tough against the winner of the duel between Novak Djokovic and Jiri Lehecka.
This Sunday, this round of 16 was not easy either for Carlos Alcaraz. Faced with a Draper worn out by his previous meetings, who arrived there by defeating his opponents in five sets each time, the Spaniard had to work hard to pocket the first set. Guilty of repeated unforced errors (21 against 8 for Draper) and feverish on his serve (5 double faults), he saw the Briton push him to his limits.
“It’s prodigious”: How Alcaraz concluded the first set
Video credit: Eurosport
And now, the long-awaited duel?
The latter first broke to get back to 4-5 before equalizing at 5-5. And on the Spaniard’s next serve, Draper led 0-30 before seeing the world number 3 raise his voice to recover and win his serve before breaking again to claim this first set at the end of ‘a great battle. Then, Jack Draper called in the physiotherapist to have his upper thigh massaged. And then there was no more match. Clearly limited in his movements, the native of Sutton no longer existed. The games went by for Alcaraz who finally saw Draper retire after losing the second round.
-While he hopes to become the youngest player in history to win all four Grand Slam tournaments, Carlos Alcaraz will now attempt to finally advance to the quarter-finals at the Australian Open, where he broke his teeth against Alexander Zverev last year. But he will have a lot to do because he could find the master of the place, Novak Djokovic, if the latter overcomes Jiri Lehecka.
Three balls for two: Alcaraz’s juggling exercise during warm-up
Video credit: Eurosport
