Carlos Alcaraz continued his quest for a maiden Australian Open title with a testing win over world No.46 Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.
The second seed dropped a set but held his nerve to prevail 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(3), over his Italian opponent. Making it remarkably only his fifth win at Melbourne Park after he missed the event last year due to injury. Against Sonego, Alcaraz blasted 43 winners against 34 unforced errors and won 78% of his first service points.
“I’m really happy with my performance today. I think both of us played at such a great level. A high intensity.” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview.
“The match was a little bit tricky with the wind and the sun. It was tough to play our best but we tried to stay there all the time. I think I played a good game. It was a great match.” He added.
According to statistician company OptaAce, Alcaraz has recorded 15 consecutive wins over players ranked outside the top 20 on a hardcourt at Grand Slam events. Overtaking both Juan Martin del Potro and Novak Djokovic to set a new record for players under the age of 21. The record is based on matches played from 1973 onwards.
Another milestone the Spaniard achieved was that his showdown against Sonego was his 200th Tour-level match. He has won 157 of them which equates to a winning rate of 78.5%.
“I didn’t know that. I’m really happy. I have been on the Tour for two-and-a-half years. I’m looking forward to 300 now,” he commented.
In the third round Alcaraz will play Chinese wildcard Shang Juncheng who beat Sumit Nagal 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Juncheng is currently ranked 140th in the world and reached the final of the US Open Boy’s tournament in 2021.
