Alcaraz advances on the fast track at the Australian Open and avoids controversy over his absence in the center

Murcia’s Carlos Alcaraz, third seed, scored his fastest set in a Grand Slam in his resounding victory over Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, whom he beat 6-0, 6-1 and 6-4 in the second round of the Australian Open. The Spaniard will face the Portuguese Nuno Borges in the next round.

“I think it will be better to spend less time on the court in Grand Slam. I am very happy with my serve today, I have worked on it a lot in preseason. I hope that in the following rounds it will be even better,” Alcaraz explained on the court after the conclusion of a match that lasted one hour and 21 minutes.

I prioritize the schedule over the track; Rod Laver is wonderful, but in these first rounds I prefer not to accumulate fatigue and rest well at night

It was the second consecutive time that the third ranked world player took to the Margaret Court Arena court, instead of the main Rod Laver, after the tournament organization prioritized this time the Serbian Novak Djokovic, ten-time champion in Melbourne, and the German Alexander Zverev, second favorite, in their respective clashes, when assigning the schedules for the flagship stage of the oceanic competition.

“I prioritize the schedule over the track. The Rod Laver is wonderful and where you are going to play final rounds but the Margaret Court is also wonderful and plays very well. In these first rounds I prefer the issue of the schedule so as not to accumulate fatigue and rest well at night, rather than playing in the center at night and going to bed late,” the Spaniard explained.

Both players jumped onto the second most relevant court covered by a grayish sky and an unusual breeze that served as an epilogue to the main electrical storm this Wednesday morning in Melbourne. During the warm-up, the passionate shouts coming from the adjacent court, the Rod Laver Arena, filtered into the interior of the Margaret Court, evidencing the tremendous fight that the Galician Jessica Bouzas offered against the defender of the women’s title, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (1), who ended up winning the match by a tight 6-3 and 7-5.

The first game, with a lightning Alcaraz and a timid Nishioka, would be the harbinger of what was about to happen. The 21-year-old young man from Murcia took the first round 6-0 in 18 minutes, the fastest of his short career in a major, after conceding only four points.

Alcaraz was very solvent in his service against the Japanese: “I have worked a lot on it in preseason”

Nishioka was finally able to maintain his serve, and win the first game, when the player was blushing 6-0 and 3-0, and the stands erupted with joy with an ovation that caused both tennis players to laugh. Immediately after, on the next point, Alcaraz signed the fastest serve so far in Melbourne Park, with a first at 210 kilometers per hour that cleared up doubts about his new serve motion, more fluid and with better rhythm. After a new break, the Murcian also scored the second set 6-1.

The Japanese entered more into the rallies in what would be the final round and stayed afloat, without breaks, until 2-2. Alcaraz, just as in his debut against the Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko, was incontestable with the rest of the backhand, and from this flank he achieved a new break that would end up being definitive until the final 6-4.

The one from El Palmar has a total of seven matches won against left-handed opponents in Grand Slam competition. He closed the match with 16 aces and 36 winners.

It is the fourth time that the current Wimbledon and Roland Garros champion has qualified for a third round on the banks of the Yarra, where he has the best record with the quarterfinals achieved in the last edition, in which he lost to the German Zverev.

Carlos Alcaraz, reinforced after the small doubts cast after the first round clash, signed his second largest victory in a Grand Slam, behind his victory against the American JJ Wolf at Roland Garros in 2024, 6-1, 6-2 and 6-1.

Rain, protagonist of the day in Melbourne

The rain broke into Melbourne and altered the day for which it could only continue normally on the closed courts and which stopped the rest of the matches in play. The court was covered in the duel between Novak Djokovic and the Portuguese Jaime Faría that was played on the center court (with a four-set victory for the Serbian). But other matches such as that of the Spanish Roberto Carballés against the Australian James Duckworth (two sets advantage for the Tenerife native) were suspended.
The Spanish Cristina Bucsa, who also saw her match against the Canadian Leylah Fernandez interrupted, let the victory slip away in a match that she had on track (3-6, 6-4 and 6-4).

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