Australian Open 2025: Alcaraz slaps down Borges to reach fourth round

2025

Wearing the blue shirt and green stripe of his country on court, the 21-year-old Spaniard has been quietly yet assertively going about his business through the first week at Melbourne as, meanwhile, seeds have fallen to teenagers, Jannik Sinner has advanced his title defence and Novak Djokovic his pursuit of a 25th major crown.

Third seed Carlos Alcaraz lost his first set of the tournament but nevertheless safely made it through to the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-2 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 victory against Nuno Borges on Friday.

Carlos Alcaraz, the third seed, flew through the opening two sets of his fourth-round passage to the Australian Open, before dropping his first in the tournament to Nuno Borges only to recover and finish in 6-2 6-4 6-7(3) 6-3 victory on Friday.

As other teenagers took out seeds, Jannik Sinner rolled on in defence of his title and Novak Djokovic his quest for a 25th major crown, the 21-year-old Spaniard carried out his work in Melbourne in relative but no less significant silence during week one.

The first set saw him break his opponent twice from four breakpoints; one break was decency enough for him to grab the second; but the experience of the Portuguese number one saw him take control towards the end of the third.

Borges squandered one set point at 6-5 with a return that sailed long but made no such mistake in the breaker to earn the set, leaving Alcaraz fuming as he sat in his chair.

The four-times Grand Slam champion started the fourth set like a man possessed and broke at the first opportunity for 2-0 with a stunning over-the-shoulder volley out the back of the court.

A huge roar of “Vamos!” filled to the brim in the sunshiny Rod Laver Arena, and from there Alcaraz’s spot within the fourth spherical for the 11th time in 16 Grand Slam campaigns appeared to be a formality.

The rest of Alcaraz’s set was more of the same – venomous serving, a couple of sumptuous drop shots and the now-customary barrage of forehand winners, the 35th of which brought up match point just shy of three hours on court.

There was a simple reason why: “I missed Rod Laver Arena,” Alcaraz said after the world number 33 dumped the final shot of the match into the net.

Despite being handed his opening set of the tournament, third seed Carlos Alcaraz moved comfortably into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-2 6-4 6-7 (3) 6-3 victory over Nuno Borges on Friday.

But in the first week in Melbourne, where seeds fell to teenagers and where Jannik Sinner defended his title and Novak Djokovic chased a 25th major crown, the 21-year-old Spaniard has discharged his business quietly but authoritatively.

Four breakpoints brought two conversions for him to land the first set, but one took him the second before the experienced Portuguese number one regained the initiative at the end of the third.

Borges let one set point slip at 6-5 via a long return but made no mistake in the tiebreak, taking the set and leaving Alcaraz seething in his chair.

The four-time Grand Slam champion came out in the fourth like a player on a mission, breaking at the very first instance for 2-0 with an incredible overhead backhand passing shot.

A huge roar of “Vamos!” permeated across Rod Laver Arena, and from that moment forth Alcaraz felt his position in round four for an 11th time in 16 Grand Slam campaigns πλέον seemed assured.

The rest of the set from Alcaraz was the sort of venomous serving, a couple of sumptuous drop-shots and the usual cannonade of forehand winners — of which the 35th brought up match point after not quite three hours on court.

Alcaraz, the world number 33, dumped the last ball of the match into the net. “I missed Rod Laver Arena,” Alcaraz said.

And, the world number one added: “I’m just really happy that I can play here again, that I can still show my best tennis here. If I have stepped on this court it has been a pleasure, it is a beautiful court. I lost here when I played here the last time so I wanted a win here so badly.

Alcaraz will play either Brit Jack Draper or Australian wildcard Aleks Vukic in the last 16 on Sunday.

Having already taken two Wimbledon crowns as well as one apiece at the U.S. Open and French Open, the Australian Open — where he has reached the quarter-finals four times, with the latest effort coming a year ago — would be seen as his least successful Grand Slam.

Alcaraz has tattoos commemorating his victories at the other three majors, and he revealed he will be getting a little more ink if he can add a title in Melbourne to his resume.

He is waiting for his mother to give birth to his sibling in October. ‘It’ll probably be a kangaroo,’ he said on court, which was met with cheers from the crowd.

See greatness — Carlos Alcaraz crushes Borges to reach Australian Open 2025 fourth round. Subscribe Sports Monks to get the latest news.

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