Australian Open: Carlos Alcaraz dismisses Tommy Paul, Aryna Sabalenka impressed by Victoria Mboko

Carlos Alcaraz equalled his best run at the Australian Open by beating Tommy Paul in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals.

The world number one has made no secret of his desire to claim the title and become the youngest man ever to complete the career Grand Slam of all four major crowns.

He is yet to drop a set at Melbourne Park and overcame a few tricky moments to maintain that in a 7-6 (6) 6-4 7-5 victory over American Paul.

Alcaraz found himself immediately on the back foot on Rod Laver Arena and he trailed 4-2 in the opening set before fighting back, while a lengthy stoppage for a medical emergency in the crowd at 3-3 in the tie-break was awkward timing for both players.

It was Paul who cracked, double-faulting on Alcaraz’s second set point, and the Spaniard’s extra firepower eventually carried him across the line.

“I think he started pretty strong,” said Alcaraz, who bettered the record held by Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker by reaching a 14th slam quarter-final before turning 23.

“He came with really strong shots and for me it was difficult a little bit but I stayed there all the time. I knew I was going to have my chances. Overall it’s been a really high level of tennis from both sides, I’m just really happy I got it in straight sets.”

The improved serve that helped carry Alcaraz to a sixth slam title at the US Open last summer has remained a work in progress, and the 22-year-old is particularly happy with the reliability of his first delivery.

He averaged 70 per cent first serves against Paul, just a touch higher than his mark for the tournament as a whole.

“I’m surprising myself,” he said. “The serve is something that I’ve been working on since a long time ago. I’m just really happy to see the improvement of the serve.

“After every set, I try to check (the statistics) out. The four matches I’ve played, the serve has been a really important weapon for me.”

Now Alcaraz must try to break new ground in Melbourne when he takes on home favourite Alex De Minaur, who dispatched in-form 10th seed Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-1 6-1.

It is the third year in a row Alcaraz has reached the last eight, with Alexander Zverev and Novak Djokovic getting the better of him the last two years.

De Minaur is also bidding to reach the last four here for the first time – and indeed at any slam – and the concerning statistic for the home fans is that he has lost all five meetings with Alcaraz.

“I’m going to have to come out guns blazing and I’m excited for a battle against Carlitos,” said the sixth seed.

Third seed Zverev, who made the final last year, is back in the last eight after easing to a 6-2 6-4 6-4 win over Francisco Cerundolo.

His next opponent will be 20-year-old American Learner Tien, who blew apart his rivalry with Daniil Medvedev to become the youngest men’s quarter-finalist here since Nick Kyrgios in 2015.

Tien and Medvedev met three times last year, including in Melbourne, and all of them were lung-busting battles, but Tien needed just an hour and 42 minutes to wrap up a 6-4 6-0 6-3 victory, handing his opponent a first ‘bagel’ set at a slam.

Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka fought off one teenage challenger but finds another in her path to the Australian Open semi-finals.

World number one Sabalenka looked to be cruising to victory against 19-year-old Victoria Mboko at 6-1 4-1 only for the Canadian to show just why she is so highly rated.

Mboko saved three match points at 5-4 but Sabalenka regrouped and won a 20th consecutive grand slam tie-break in dominant fashion to claim a 6-1 7-6 (1) victory.

The world number one was hugely impressed by Mboko, who is now on the verge of the top 10, saying: “She’s an amazing player. It was quite a fight.

“I’m super happy that I was able to close this match in straight sets. The second set was a bit tricky. But I’m happy with the level I played. Happy to be through.”

Next up for Sabalenka is an even younger opponent in American Iva Jovic, who only turned 18 last month.

The teenager followed up her maiden top-10 win against Jasmine Paolini by swatting aside Yulia Putintseva 6-0 6-1 in just 53 minutes.

Jovic already has 11 victories this season, more than any other woman, and is the youngest player to reach the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park without dropping a set since Venus Williams back in 1998.

She has been tipped as a future world number one by her idol Djokovic, with whom she shares Serbian heritage and who has given her advice on her game this fortnight.

Jovic picked Sabalenka at the end of last season as the player she most wanted to face, and she will now get her wish, with the teenager saying: “I think I’m just going to try to keep taking care of my side of the net.

“Obviously she’s number one for a reason and had so much success at this tournament, but that’s what I want.

“I said it last year, I hope to be able to play her this year because you definitely want to play the best and see how it goes. So I’m just really excited.”

Mboko and Jovic are friends and doubles partners, but they were unable to progress beyond the second round here, losing a very tight contest to fourth seeds Elise Mertens and Zhang Shuai.

Sabalenka is maintaining her formidable record in slams, with the top seed, who is bidding for her third title here in four years, having made at least the quarter-finals at every major tournament she has played since the French Open in 2022.

Sunday’s remaining fourth-round ties saw Elina Svitolina beat Mirra Andreeva in straight sets, while third seed Coco Gauff survived a test against former French Open finalist Karolina Muchova, winning 6-1 3-6 6-3.

Gauff did not lose a set to Muchova in four previous meetings and looked completely in control in the opener before the Czech turned things round.

A good omen for Gauff, though, is that every time she has beaten Muchova, she has gone on to win the title.

“I didn’t know that, but I don’t think it’s a real thing,” said the American. “I think I just usually play her later in the tournaments, so it just happens to be like that. I don’t think I’m going to think about that but, if I do win, then I guess I have her to thank.”

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