The world number three in men’s Tennis, Carlos Alcaraz qualified on Sunday January 19 for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open where he could face ten-time tournament winner Novak Djokovic (7e world).
The 21-year-old Spaniard, in search of the last Grand Slam title in Melbourne which is missing from his collection, beat the Briton Jack Draper (18th), who threw in the towel after losing the first two sets 7- 5, 6-2.
He will face in the quarter-finals the winner of the match between Novak Djokovic and the Czech Jiri Lehecka (29e), scheduled for early evening in Melbourne.
“It’s not the way I wanted to go to the next round but I’m happy to play another quarter-final” in Australia, where he never reached the final four, Carlos Alcaraz said on court.
“I hope that this year I will go further” in the table, added the four-time Grand Slam winner, who if he won the title would become the youngest player in history to have won all four major tournaments.
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Jack Draper, winner in five sets in each of the first three rounds, played the first tournament of his season in Melbourne, after having given up playing the United Cup due to a hip injury.
After wishing for a “speedy recovery” to the British, Carlos Alcaraz said “very happy” of his level of play. “Physically, I am in great shape, which is very important at the start of a second week of Grand Slam”he stressed.
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