No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain and a dozen more seeded men’s players advanced to the third round of the Australian Open on Wednesday in Melbourne.
Alcaraz survived a 78-minute opening set — the longest of his Grand Slam career — before finishing off a 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2 victory against Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann.
“I just played against a great player today,” Alcaraz said. “But just happy that I’m just improving every day after every match. So hopefully being better in the next round.”
Up next is No. 32 seed Corentin Moutet of France, who was leading Michael Zheng 3-6, 6-1, 6-3, 2-0 when the American retired due to injury.
At 22, Alcaraz is vying to become the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. He has fallen in the quarterfinals in each of the past two years.
No. 3 seed and 2025 runner-up Alexander Zverev of Germany beat France’s Alexandre Muller 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Australian hopeful and No. 6 seed Alex de Minaur rallied past Hamad Medjedovic of Serbia 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-2, 6-1. No. 10 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan won 7-5, 6-4, 7-5 against Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics. No. 11 Daniil Medvedev of Russia overcame a slow start for a 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 triumph against France’s Quentin Halys.
No. 13 Andrey Rublev of Russia had the toughest test of the afternoon session but prevailed over qualifier Jaime Faria of Portugal, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5. Faria created more break chances than Rublev but could only convert 2 of 12, while Rublev took advantage of 5 of 9 opportunities.
Rublev admitted after the match that he didn’t know Faria at all. But he discovered that the 22-year-old had taken a set from Novak Djokovic one year ago.
“I started to look at how he was playing and I was like, ‘Wow, how (is) this guy in the (qualifiers)?’ The level he was playing at was quite good,” Rublev said. “He has an amazing serve, an amazing backhand.”
No. 14 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain outlasted American Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 4-6, 6-4. No. 18 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina served up 10 aces and just one double fault in a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia, and No. 19 Tommy Paul continued to look impressive as he ousted Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
No. 25 Learner Tien of the U.S. and 29th-seeded compatriot Frances Tiafoe also advanced, as did No. 26 Cameron Norrie of Great Britain — all in four-setters. Tien took out Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 5-7, 6-1, 6-0. Tiafoe beat Argentina’s Francisco Comesana 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, while Norrie was a 6-1, 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5) winner against American Emilio Nava.
In other matches, Fabian Marozsan of Hungary defeated Poland’s Kamil Majchrzak 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (5), and Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry eliminated Great Britain’s Arthur Ferry, 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-3. Portugal’s Nuno Borges knocked out Australian wild card Jordan Thompson 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
–Field Level Media
