Carlos Alcaraz soundly beats Alex de Minaur in final Australian Open exhibition match

Alex de Minaur faces a daunting time of it when it comes to his Australian Open draw and also did so on court against Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday with the Aussie leading light soundly beaten 6-3, 6-3.

The World No.6 will be aiming to reach the semi-finals of a major for the first time but he was also handed an uphill struggle when it came to his draw. He faces Matteo Berrettini in the opening round who of course on his day is a fearsome opponent but then it could be Frances Tiafoe in the third round and then Alexander Bublik in the fourth.

Bublik who is making his long awaited top 10 debut won Hong Kong recently and won four titles alone in 2025 on all surfaces including one on hard, two on clay which has proven a nemesis in the past as well as on grass which has been an enjoyable one previously.

Once just a showman, Bublik has proven to be a bit of a force and could make his breakthrough in a Grand Slam in Melbourne at the expense of De Minaur. He is also a player who due to his nature won't be put off by the support likely levied the way of De Minaur on a huge showcourt.

Alcaraz showed a potential preview of that tie that could await in the Quarter-Finals for De Minaur or even Bublik today when he beat the Aussie albeit over a shorter format.

He was at his superb best today as he broke De Minaur in his first service game and was producing exhibition shots for fun including an incredible passing forehand in the third.

This continued as he won the opening set in just 41 minutes and picked up where he left off in the second. Alcaraz thwarted an aggressive approach from De Minaur who was going to the net and trying to knock Alcaraz off his stride.

Albeit to no avail as he showed that he is ready to try and become the youngest player ever to complete a career Grand Slam. Something that could feasibly happen on both sides of the draw with Iga Swiatek also needing Australia to complete her set. Alcaraz faces Adam Walton and in the second set, he produced a masterful passing backhand when 5-3 up on De Minaur's serve.

De Minaur saved the match point after two second serve lets but Alcaraz had to serve it out and did so teeing up three match points sealing the third to win in 45 minutes. De Minaur reacted to the draw and also the contest afterwards and admits he has an uphill battle.

"Hey, if it was meant to be easy, everyone would do it. So I'm excited for the challenge," de Minaur said of his draw.

"Yeah super happy, very excited to get started and we're just around the corner. So hopefully I can put on a show for you guys."

"He came out hot and stayed hot," de Minaur said.

"You know what - I did my best, made it competitive but he's played some good balls."