Carlos Alcaraz continues to grind out results on his way through the Australian Open following his win against Tommy Paul.
Alcaraz is enjoying a record-breaking Australian Open, where he is yet to drop a set in his first four matches.
However, the world number one has had to work for each one of his victories, particularly against Paul and Yannick Hanfmann. Despite winning in straight-sets, both matches were two of the longest straight set matches Alcaraz has ever competed in.
Tim Henman had been unsure about Alcaraz’s performances in his first three rounds, but he spotted something he really liked with the Spaniard’s display against Paul.
Tim Henman says Carlos Alcaraz was really ‘focused’ against Tommy Paul
Henman was full of praise for Alcaraz’s performance against Paul, after questioning his level in his previous matches.
Speaking about Alcaraz’s journey in the Australian Open on TNT Sports, Henman said: “A couple of times in the early rounds I’ve thought he looked a little bit distracted.
“Sometimes the shot selection hasn’t been quite as good as it could have been. I mean that is a problem when you’ve got so many shots to choose from.
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“I think today against Tommy Paul, this is someone that has been in the latter stages of Slams, is a former top 10 player, so I think that really focused his attention, his intensity at the right moments was good, and he will be absolutely delighted to already be through to the quarter-finals.”
Tommy Paul has previosuly been a thorn in Alcaraz’s side before, having beaten him twice in his career in Masters competition.
Alcaraz picked up his sixth victory against the American with his straight-sets victory at the Australian Open.
Carlos Alcaraz surpasses Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker record
Alcaraz seems to break a record at the Australian Open with every single win and his victory over Paul was no different.
The Spaniard confirmed his place in his 14th Grand Slam quarter-final, which is more than any other player in the Open Era before turning 23.
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Alcaraz had shared the record with Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker, who both had 13 Grand Slam last eight appearances before they turned 23, but now he holds it outright.
The world number one has now matched his best-ever performance at the Australian Open, having reached the last eight in the last two years.
Alcaraz lost to Novak Djokovic in 2025 and Alexander Zverev in 2024. If he wins the Australian Open this year, he will become the youngest person to achieve a Career Grand Slam.
