For a player whose trajectory puts him on course with some of the greatest of all time, the Australian Open once stood as a scene of relative underachievement for Carlos Alcaraz. After becoming a two-time champion at Wimbledon, Roland Garros and the US Open by the age of 22, Alcaraz had yet to advance past the semi-finals in Melbourne in four previous attempts. At the start of his latest bid, he declared winning the Australian Open, a title that would also complete a historic career grand slam, as his “main goal” for the year.
The world No 1 moved a step closer to accomplishing that with a 7-5 6-2 6-1 victory over Alex de Minaur, a victory that saw the Spaniard raise his level and break new ground by advancing to his first semi-final at this tournament. After quarter-final defeats to Alexander Zverev in 2024 and Novak Djokovic last year, Alcaraz becomes the third-youngest man in the Open era to reach at least the semi-finals of all four majors, after Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
