Carlos Alcaraz isn't waiting to be given a seat at the table. He's kicking in the door and putting up his feet!
The youngest Grand Slam seed in more than 30 years continued his explosive start at the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 win over Dusan Lajovic to charge into the third round, where he will face seventh seed Matteo Berrettini.
"I'm really happy with the performance today. It wasn't an easy day with all the wind," Alcaraz said. "I knew that I'd have to be really focussed on the match, really focussed on what I had to do."
Alcaraz is now one win away from reaching the second week of a major for the second consecutive time, following his run to the US Open quarter-finals last year. He blasted 27 winners to Lajovic’s eight and revealed an improving all-court game, winning 22 of 27 net approaches.
Coached by former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the Spaniard had to advance through qualifying to make his main draw debut last year, but after a breakout season in 2021 he has returned as the 31st seed. And he's showing why.
In the first round Alcaraz dropped just seven games to Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
The reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion is the youngest player to be seeded at a major since Michael Chang at the 1990 US Open.
Youngest Players To Be Seeded At The Australian Open (Open Era)
The youngest Grand Slam seed in more than 30 years continued his explosive start at the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 win over Dusan Lajovic to charge into the third round, where he will face seventh seed Matteo Berrettini.
"I'm really happy with the performance today. It wasn't an easy day with all the wind," Alcaraz said. "I knew that I'd have to be really focussed on the match, really focussed on what I had to do."
Alcaraz is now one win away from reaching the second week of a major for the second consecutive time, following his run to the US Open quarter-finals last year. He blasted 27 winners to Lajovic’s eight and revealed an improving all-court game, winning 22 of 27 net approaches.
Coached by former World No. 1 Juan Carlos Ferrero, the Spaniard had to advance through qualifying to make his main draw debut last year, but after a breakout season in 2021 he has returned as the 31st seed. And he's showing why.
Looking ahead to his clash with Berrettini, whom the Spaniard beat in a third-set tie-break in their lone meeting last year indoors in Vienna, Alcaraz said, "It was a really close match... and I think I have grown up since that match. I'm going to have fun and let's see what happens."
In the first round Alcaraz dropped just seven games to Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo.
The reigning Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion is the youngest player to be seeded at a major since Michael Chang at the 1990 US Open.
Youngest Players To Be Seeded At The Australian Open (Open Era)
| Player | Age | Tournament |
| Bjorn Borg | 17 years, 6 months, 18 days | 1973 |
| Boris Becker | 18 years, 3 days | 1985 |
| John Alexander | 18 years, 6 months, 15 days | 1970 |
| Yannick Noah | 18 years, 7 months, 7 days | 1978 |
| Carlos Alcaraz | 18 years, 8 months, 12 days | 2022 |