Alcaraz disposes of another opponent. His next one thinks he'll be ...
Top 10 player Alexander Zverev said on Monday night that the Australian Open had not yet had the chance to get to know rising Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz. It’s true. Before this year, he had won only three matches here, incongruously few for a man who has already won two major championships.
Carlos Alcaraz cruised through to the quarter-finals beating Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the fourth round.Credit: Getty
Germany’s Zverev also said we would get to know Alcaraz well over the next 25 years or so. That’s also true. As Zverev was speaking, Alcaraz was putting the finishing touches on another breathtaking display, the sort that reaffirmed him as a generational talent, this time crushing usually redoubtable Serbian competitor Miomir Kecmanovic, 6-4 6-4 6-0.
Crushing? That’s harsh. This match was one-sided, but one-sided should not be mistaken for boring. Alcaraz took Kecmanovic on a joyride before dumping him. The Rod Laver arena crowd’s ovation for the Serbian at night’s end was appreciative, not patronising. This might be hard to grasp if you had not seen the match.
Here, stats might help. Kecmanonvic made only 17 unforced errors for the match, to set against 14 winners. That’s a respectable ratio normally. It was just that at the other end of the court, Alcaraz made 43 clean winners and merely 19 errors. He wears a singlet, but really, he should wear a cape.
Asked on court by Jim Courier what he thought he’d done well, Alcaraz said without false modesty: “I think everything. I did everything perfectly. I think today was a pretty good match as well.”
Reflecting later, he said: “Obviously, it’s great to find this level, to play this level. As I said on the court, I’m feeling better and better every day. I’m feeling better and better every match that I’m playing. Coming into the quarter-final with a lot of confidence.
“I will try to take this as an advantage, the confidence that I have and the level that I’m playing. But hopefully in the quarter-finals against Sascha (Zverev), will play a better match than today.”
Miomir Kecmanovic was dumped in straight sets by Carlos Alcaraz.Credit: AP
Alcaraz made winners on both sides of the court, and from near and far. He suddenly produced winners in the middle of what were perfectly good rallies up to that point. In the first set, he reached behind himself for a backhand from the corner of his court and somehow sent it to the feet of Kecmanovic, who could only bunt it back for Alcaraz to put away.
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Sometimes, Alcaraz and Kecmanovic engaged at such angles that it was as if the net had been set up transversely. But even as they duelled, Alcaraz seemed always to have one extra trick up his sleeve, no mean feat considering that he lays in a trademark sleeveless vest.
In the second, he made such metres so quickly to a Kecmanovic drop shot that he paused as if weighing up which way to hit it. Kecmanovic second-guessed him, but Alcaraz made the next shot a winner anyway. They both smiled. It was all Kecmanovic could do, and it’s what Alcaraz does anyway.
There’s not much else to tell really without belittling Kecmanovic in a way he does not deserve.
The man of this moment and many to come is the charismatic Spaniard. It sounds as glib as it is true, that he does not have obvious weaknesses. Some will emerge as the scrutiny increases, but at his age, so will further strengths.
Two years ago, Alcaraz became the youngest man to ascend to No 1 in the rankings. Last year, he won Wimbledon, to set alongside the US Open title the year before. He’s still only 20. Now he’s familiarising himself with Melbourne Park.
Alexander Zverev of Germany wins his fourth round match of the Australian Open.Credit: AP
Zverev survived a super tiebreaker against Briton Cam Norrie to advance to a meeting with Alcaraz, who he beat when they last played. The Spaniard said the German brought out the best in him, a scary thought. “I think for the crowd it’s going to be a great match as well,” Alcaraz said.
Boiled down, Zverev’s mission is to close down Melbourne’s getting-to-know-you Alcaraz sessions for this year. That is, if he gets a say at all.
Beyond that, Alcaraz will have another Serb in mind, on RLA next Sunday.
In the late match on Monday, 12th seeded Chinese Qinwen Zheng made efficiently short work of world No. 95 Oceane Dodin from France, prevailing 6-0 6-3 in less than an hour, and now proceeds to play the unseeded Anna Kalinskaya in a quarter-final.
Watch the Australian Open live and free on the Nine Network with every match streaming live on 9Now and ad-free on Stan Sport.
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