Carlos Alcaraz hits another milestone that only Nadal and Djokovic reached quicker

Carlos Alcaraz has advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time after a straight-sets win over Alex de Minaur on Tuesday.

The Spaniard looked comfortable throughout the match, coming away with a 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 victory at Rod Laver Arena.

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After a competitive opening set, De Minaur struggled to keep up as Alcaraz pulled away to book his place in the final four.

Alcaraz had already surpassed a record held by Bjorn Borg earlier in the tournament. His performance against De Minaur added another milestone to his growing list of achievements, putting him in elite company among tennis legends.

Carlos Alcaraz reaches semi-finals at All Four Grand Slams

According to OptaAce, Alcaraz is now the third-youngest player in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam events.

At 22 years and 258 days old, he joins an elite list topped only by Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Nadal was just 22 years and 83 days when he reached this stage at every major, while Djokovic did it even earlier, at 20 years and 237 days.

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Alcaraz will now face Alexander Zverev for a place in his first Australian Open final. The German booked his spot with a four-set win over Learner Tien earlier in the day.

Recap of the previous match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev last faced each other in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters, where Alcaraz came out on top with a 6-4, 6-3 win.

Zverev was clearly struggling with fitness issues throughout the match, something that didn’t go unnoticed by Alcaraz. After sealing his place in the final, Alcaraz sent a message to Zverev by writing on the camera lens: “Happy for the final but feeling bad for Sasha. Wish you all the best.”

Alcaraz went on to lift the title after Jannik Sinner was forced to retire from their final at 5-0.

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