Carlos Alcaraz eased into his third successive Australian Open quarter-finals on Sunday, doling out another Grand Slam beatdown for American Tommy Paul in a match disrupted by a medical emergency in the crowd.
Having thrashed Paul in last year's French Open quarter-finals and beaten him in four sets at Wimbledon in 2024, the world number one gave the 19th seed a hard-court humbling with a 7-6(6) 6-4 7-5 win in the afternoon sunshine at Rod Laver Arena.
"He started pretty strong...I knew I was going to have my chances and I think I did that," Alcaraz said on court.
"Overall it was a really high level of tennis from both sides but really happy I got it in straight sets."
The first set was halted for some 14 minutes at 3-3 in the tiebreak as medical staff attended to a stricken fan high up in the terraces. The elderly woman was able to get to her feet and was helped out of the arena.
When play resumed, Paul ended up double-faulting to lost the set, setting the tone for a match that saw him squander hard work with momentary lapses.
A single service break in each of the last two sets was all Alcaraz needed to claim the match, having given Paul virtually nothing on his own serve.
Alcaraz with face Australian number one Alex de Minaur, who pierced 10th-seeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik's defences with relentless pressure to secure a 6‑4 6‑1 6-1 win and reach a second straight Australian Open quarter-final and seventh at the Grand Slams overall.
De Minaur, who is looking to become the first Australian man to claim the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup since Mark Edmondson 50 years ago, will seek a maiden win over the Spaniard for a place in the semi-finals.
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