Carlos Alcaraz beat Portuguese Nuno Borges to reach the round of 16 at the Australian Open.
World number 3 Carlos Alcaraz earned his ticket to the round of 16 of the Australian Open on Friday by beating Portuguese Nuno Borges (33rd) in the third round. Despite notable resistance from his opponent, who took his first set in Melbourne, Alcaraz won in four sets: 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2.
This success marks the Spaniard’s second victory against Borges, whom he had already dominated in 2023 on the clay of Barcelona. Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, won his first two matches in three sets but lost a set to the Portuguese, a semi-finalist at the ATP 250 in Auckland at the start of the year.
In the round of 16, the 21-year-old Spaniard will face either the Briton Jack Draper (18th) or the Australian Aleksandar Vukic (68th). In the event of victory, a shock against Novak Djokovic (7th) could await him in the quarter-finals. The Serbian, crowned ten times in Melbourne and holder of 24 major titles, is aiming for a historic 25th trophy.
If Alcaraz were to win the Australian Open, he would become the youngest player to have conquered all four Grand Slam tournaments. To date, his best result in Melbourne remains a quarter-final lost in 2024 against Alexander Zverev (2nd), who also qualified for the round of 16 on Friday, a few minutes before the Spaniard.
