Carlos Alcaraz debunks previous Australian Open woes as he defeats Alex de Minaur to reach first semi-final in magnificent display

Carlos Alcaraz has confirmed a first semi-final in the Australian Open after defeating a very tough opponent in the form of Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.

The scoreline may not reflect the high standard performance completed by de Minaur, but it was a very fair reflection of the ridiculous level Alcaraz completed. After fighting through a very gritty first set, he produced some scintillating tennis, dropping just three games in the final two sets as he stormed one step close to becoming the youngest career Grand Slam tennis player.

Alcaraz won 77% of his first serve points, while punishing the second serve od de Minaur with him only converting 38% of them into points for his tally. Alcaraz hit 26 winners compared to de Minaur's 16, but hit three more unforced errors with 32. He was clinical at the net, winning 82% of points while saving five of the seven break points met by his opponent. Overall it was a very positive showing from Alcaraz, and a firm message sent to his rivals that he is good enough to take this title.

It may have looked at first that history was once more going to repeat itself with Alcaraz taking a 3-0 lead, with a narrow break sandwiched by two comfortable holds with just two points lost on serve. De Minaur, known as the fighter he is, clawed his way back into it, with a very impressive three-game spurt of his own enough to draw level.

The final blow looked to have been placed by Alcaraz as he went up 0-40 before taking his second break point to set up a chance to serve out for the set. The Aussie was having other ideas, doing brilliantly to keep up to speed with the Spaniard to level scores at 5-5. He was not out of the woods yet, and an emphatic hold to love from Alcaraz was the start of seven consecutive points which saw him create three set points. De Minaur saved all of them on his serve before a needless unforced error undid all his hard work and allowed Alcaraz get another opportunity, which he made no mistake in taking.

De Minaur would be feeling hard done by throughout the match. He was playing at a very high level, doing all the right things on court but was just not doing enough to keep with the flying Alcaraz, who was dazzling on the big stage. In a repeat of the first set, he fell 3-0 down to Alcaraz, who had started to fully find his feet in this match, playing some magical tennis.

The 26-year-old survived a break point from Alcaraz to make it 3-1 but was not able to get another three-game boost very much needed to stay in the second set. He missed a solitary opportunity to close the scoreline to 4-3, with him being punished greatly by the world number one who held his serve to make it 5-2 before seeing it out on his opponents.

It had seemed the final nail in the coffin was just waiting for Alcaraz to hammer it in. It would not be easy to finally finish off the tricky Aussie, who was still receiving a lot of positive crowd support on Rod Laver Arena, as he had done all week when glistening against easier opponents. Alcaraz once again went 3-0 in front, breaking in the second game. De Minaur got a game on the board before a hold to love very quickly put him two away from a first semi-final Down Under.

A third break point was taken, as Alcaraz moved to within one game of the match, which turned into one point which was converted with a glorious ace. De Minaur had completed a stunning tournament, but he was dejected walking away from the court as Alcaraz bathed in his glory, passionately cheering while a sporting applause from the crowd was turned into huge cheers as de Minaur left the stadium with another defeat against Alcaraz in the bag.

It will be a repeat of the 2024 quarter-final in Melbourne, with Alexander Zverev awaiting the six-time Grand Slam champion in the semi-final. The career Grand Slam is still very much on, and his title credentials have been laid onto the table with a fantastic showing.