Carlos Alcaraz is steamrolling past the competition at the 2026 Australian Open. The Spaniard broke his quarterfinal curse in Melbourne and has now reached the semifinals in his quest to complete a career Grand Slam this year. Alcaraz defeated home favorite Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals on Tuesday to set up a semifinal clash with Alexander Zverev.
Against de Minaur, Alcaraz dominated from the outset and never let the Australian get a hold of his game. The Spaniard led handsomely in all key stats, including first-serve win percentage (77%), total winners (26), break points won (7/16), and total points won (103).
Alcaraz played flawless tennis, leaving fans on the edge of their seats and commentators applauding the marvel that is the young Spaniard, who has been dominating men’s tennis alongside Jannik Sinner.
Former World No. 1 Andy Roddick didn’t hold back in praising the current World No. 1, equating his ball-striking abilities to those of MLB stars Shohei Ohtani and Barry Bonds.
“You see, the way the hand goes out for a kick serve, the hand goes around for a slicer. Right. So that’s the first, like, clue along with the sound, but okay. He hits that little kick out. You’re three feet wide of the sideline with a backhand, knowing that if you don’t hit it perfectly, it’s in the middle of the court. He has a forehand. Okay. So let’s say you hit it well, but not perfectly. It’s in the middle,” Roddick said.
“Now, all of a sudden, he’s there with a forehand. And again, on a split second, you know, that the most likely shot is to pull to your forehand with, you know, just rip city. If you sprint there, he can hold and play it off to your back inside, against your movement. And, or you have to guard 20 feet in front of you on that, on that, uh, drop shot too. That’s one point. That’s two shots in one point. Right,” he added.
“And so, yeah. So those decisions have to be made over and over and over and over and over. And he doesn’t really miss. He’s like Ohtani or Bonds. Like if he gets, if you make a mistake in the strike zone, you’re going to get punished more often than not. And even if he doesn’t punish you there and doesn’t hit it perfectly, then you’re just back to neutral in the rally,” Roddick concluded.
Carlos Alcaraz is Eager to Play Alexander Zverev in the Semifinals of the Australian Open
After beating de Minaur in the quarterfinals, Alcaraz approached Jim Courier for the customary on-court interview, where he reflected on his performance against the Aussie. At the same time, he voiced his excitement to face Zverev in the semifinals, as he eyes his first final at Melbourne Park.
“Well, I think I should increase my level. I’ve seen Sascha through the whole tournament. And I know he’s playing great tennis, really solid, aggressively. I think he’s serving pretty well as well. So I had to be ready. We practiced in the week before the tournament began. And he beat me 7-6. But playing such great tennis,” Alcaraz said.
“So I mean, we’ve got to be ready. Not only me, but my team as well. I think we are all a team. And we have to play tactically really, really well. So it’s going to be a great battle. I’m really looking forward to playing him again here and taking my revenge. So it’s going to be great. Can’t wait for that,” he added.
The Alcaraz-Zverev semifinal is scheduled for Friday at Rod Laver Arena.
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