Alcaraz wins 200th career match

Australia Second seed Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the Australian Open after defeating Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(3) on the afternoon of January 18.

The third round was also Alcaraz's previous best performance at the Australian Open – the only Grand Slam where he has never reached the semi-finals.

Alcaraz and Sonego played a quality match with many beautiful shots. The Italian was not far behind Alcaraz, winning 37 winners compared to his opponent's 43. After losing the first set 4-6, Sonego played well in the tie-break of the second set to win 7-3 and tie the score.

Alcaraz has a 78.5% win rate in his first 200 career matches. Photo: ATP

The third set was when Alcaraz picked up the pace, hitting more difficult shots and forcing his opponent to make more errors. The turning point of the set came in the second game, when Alcaraz successfully took advantage of a break-point to take a 3-0 lead. The 20-year-old made no mistakes in the remaining service games, before winning 6-3.

Sonego created a draw with Alcaraz in the fourth set. After losing the first serve game, Sonego won the fourth break-point of the next game to tie the score. Good serving ability helped the two players quickly end the following games and enter the tie-break series. This time, Alcaraz did not make the same mistakes as in the second set. The two-time Grand Slam winner played solidly, winning two mini-breaks before defeating his senior 7-3.

Alcaraz's 157th win in 200 ATP Tour matches. He will play China's Shang Junchen in the third round. In the same match, Shang defeated Sumit Nagal in four sets despite losing the first set.

"I'm happy with the performance today," Alcaraz said after beating Sonego. "We both played at a high level, with high intensity. The second set I lost, but it was still a set we both played well. Some of the plays today got the crowd excited."

If Alcaraz beats Shang – who is ranked 140th in the world and entered the tournament on a wildcard – he will face either 14th seed Tommy Paul or Miomir Kecmanovic in the fourth round. Alcaraz’s quarterfinal draw includes Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud still in play.

Vy Anh

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