The Spanish
Carlos Alcaraz
, number two in the world, reconciled this Monday with his best version to beat the Serbian
Miomir Kecmanovic
in the fourth round of the
Australian Open
, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-0 in just one hour and 49 minutes, and he will face the German
Alexander Zverev
(6) in one of the highlights of the quarterfinals.
The German defeated the British
Cameron Norrie
(19th) by a very tight 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6 and 7-6 (3), after marathon four hours and five minutes of action.
Alcaraz's resounding victory is a declaration of war against
Novak Djokovic
(1st), who had just marched into the round of 16 with a landslide victory over the Frenchman
Adrian Mannarino
, who was only allowed to win three games in an unmatched duel.
The Serbian is the main candidate to win the first Grand Slam of the season thanks to resounding victories that magnify his legendary status.
Another who advances in Melbourne is the Russian
Daniil Medvedev
(3rd), who this time avoided the fifth set and defeated the surprising Portuguese
Nuno Borges
6-3, 7-6(4), 5-7 and 6-1, which It allows him to sustain his ambitious dream of reaching number 1 in the world ranking.
Of course, the Muscovite does not have it easy, since he must not only keep the title, but he must light candles so that Djokovic and Alcaraz, both with fabulous gait, stumble before the semifinals.
"The third set was very hard on a physical level. He started hitting any shot of mine that wasn't so deep. After the third, my only one since was that there wasn't a fifth,"
he commented after blowing a 5-2 lead. during a third chapter that ended up falling on the Portuguese side.
The Muscovite held up well physically despite the demands of his last match against the Finnish Emil Ruusuvuori, which lasted until 3:40 in the Australian morning, and got his ticket to the quarterfinals for the third time in a Slam in which he has fallen on two occasions at the gates of the title.
Medvedev lost the 2020 and 2022 finals against Djokovic and the Spanish Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from the tournament due to an untimely tear suffered at the ATP in Brisbane, where he had completed his return to the professional circuit after a long inactivity of 347 days. .
The Russian finished the match with 13 aces and 11 double faults, as well as 34 unforced errors that contrasted with the Portuguese's 66.
Borges, however, signed the best Grand Slam of his career at the age of 26, after leaving tennis players of the stature of the Spanish
Alejandro Davidovich
(23rd) and the Bulgarian
Grigor Dimitrov
(13th) on his way to the round of 16.
°).
Medvedev's next rival will be the Polish
Hubert Hurkacz
(9th), who ended the adventure of the revelation of the competition, the French guest
Arthur Cazaux
, who finished the match with 18 aces.
The Pole, who reached the quarterfinals in the oceanic
major
for the first time in his career , beat the Frenchman by a tight 7-6 (6), 7-6 (3) and 6-4, in a clash held at the John Cain Arena and which lasted two hours and 28 minutes.
Hurkacz and Medvedev have a 3-2 head-to-head in favor of the Pole and a new round will take place this Wednesday at Melbourne Park.
Source: EFE