Carlos Alcaraz passes Tommy Paul test at Australian Open, meets Alex De Minaur next | ATP Tour
ATP Tour
Alcaraz passed the Paul test to get a QF seat at the Australian Open and will face De Minaur next
De Minaur defeated Bublik in straight sets
January 25, 2026
Peter Staples
Carlos Alcaraz defeated Tommy Paul in Melbourne on Sunday.
Andy West
Carlos Alcaraz faced his toughest test yet at the 2026 Australian Open on Sunday afternoon, but the PIF ATP No. 1 overcame a challenge from Tommy Paul to maintain a commanding start to the Melbourne hard-court Grand Slam.
Alcaraz defeated No. 19 seed Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 in the fourth round with an explosive hitting performance to improve his set score to 12-0 in two weeks. Paul, owner of both Lexus ATP games against the Spaniard, quickly showed the threat he posed as he led 4-2 inside Rod Laver Arena. Alcaraz recovered quickly, however, and played some great tennis to reach his third consecutive Australian Open quarterfinals.
The best thing in the world🔥@carlosalcaraz Defeated Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 and returned to the quarterfinals.@Australian Open | #AO26 pic.twitter.com/cnTEtNaIus
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 25, 2026
“I thought he started off pretty strong. In the first service game, I thought I hit it pretty well, but he hit it really hard, really flat, and it was a little bit difficult for me,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview. “But I stayed in there and I knew I was going to have my chances and I tried to take them. I think I did.
“Overall, I thought the level of tennis was very high on both sides, but I’m really happy that I got it in straight sets.”
According to Infosys Stats, the 22-year-old top seed hit 35 winners en route to a quarter-final tie against home favorite Alex de Minaur at Melbourne Park. With a victory that took 2 hours and 44 minutes, Alcaraz was also on track to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam (win all four Grand Slam singles titles). The current record holder is his compatriot Rafael Nadal.
In a tense first set, Alcaraz had to fight back from an early break down, with 2023 semifinalist Paulo going head-to-head with the powerful Spaniard on the baseline. In the ensuing tie-break, Paul blocked a set point with a backhand at 5/6, which proved to be one of the highlights of the match, but the American quickly undermined that effort, giving Alcaraz a double fault at 6/7.
With the momentum in his favor, Alcaraz broke serve in the purple jersey in the third game of the second set. The 24-time Tour winner wowed the Rod Laver Arena crowd with a series of forehand winners, especially a combination of spin and speed.
Paul missed the final three months of the 2025 season with injury, having won five of his first seven matches this season, but continued to fight in trademark fashion to reach a fifth Grand Slam quarter-final. However, while the 28-year-old had no shortage of moments of his own, he was unable to put any real pressure on Alcaraz after the first set.
After saving three break points in the third game of the third set to tie the score at 2-1, Paul failed to repeat his escape in the 11th game. Alcaraz crucially earned his third break of the match in the Lexus ATP head-to-head series against Paul before serving to improve to 6-2.
De Minaur earned his second quarter-final spot with an easy 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win over 10th seed Alexander Bublik, who had nothing to do against the Australian on Rod Laver Arena.
“I knew what I was going to face today,” De Minaur said. “Bublik is a great player. He has so much firepower and I’ve lost to him the past few times. I made sure I was ready from the first point to the last point and I was locked in. It was all about counteracting his big shots and trying my best to get him moving, and it all worked out perfectly.”
Two consecutive AO quarter-finals @alexdeminaur 🔥@Australian Open | #AO26
— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 25, 2026
The sixth seed absorbed everything Bublik threw at him, tracking down the ball and showing quick reflexes to fend off the 28-year-old tennis great’s game. With the win, De Minaur defeated a top-10 player for the third time in a major and matched his best finish in a major.
The 26-year-old holds an 0-5 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals but will be looking to change that record against Alcaraz. He dropped just one set this week in Melbourne.
“I think I’ve hit the ball really well in the last two games and I’m really happy with my level,” De Minaur said. “I think I did everything I wanted to do on the court and I’m excited for the next game and it’s going to be a big game. I’m going to have to come in here with a gun and I’m excited for a fight.”
