Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the fourth round of the Australian Open after China's Junsheng Shang was forced to retire from injury early in the third set, with Alcaraz leading 6-1, 6-1, 1-0.
Although Alcaraz's victory was quick due to his opponent's retirement, there was no denying the Spaniard's overall superiority over his 18-year-old Chinese opponent. It took Alcaraz only 1 hour to win the first two sets.
Carlos Alcaraz played well at the 2024 Australian Open (Photo: Getty).
Witnessing Alcaraz's impressive form, former tennis player John Millman commented in Nine: "Over the years, I think Alcaraz has improved in every aspect. His shots are a little heavier, which was already strong. Alcaraz is stronger than he was 12 months ago."
"The scary thing about Alcaraz right now is I think he has a level or two to go up if he needs to. He's almost underperforming at the moment."
Third seed Daniil Medvedev advanced to the last 16 of the Australian Open after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 at Margaret Court Arena.
The Russian won all six previous meetings between the two and looked comfortable throughout. Auger-Aliassime was unable to get close except in the early stages of the second set when he broke early, but Medvedev then turned the game around and won.
Medvedev had a tough match in the second round when he overcame Emil Ruusuvuori in 5 sets and the match ended at nearly 4am. However, the challenge in the third round became simpler for Medvedev as Auger-Aliassime made 42 unforced errors.
Medvedev played impressively against Auger-Aliassime (Photo: Getty).
"It was difficult, especially after my last match," Medvedev began his on-court interview after the match. "I'm happy to play well. I run very hard, so I always try to hit difficult shots so I don't have to run too much."
"In the third set, I had some good shots. So I'm happy with the match and looking forward to what's next."
Joining Alcaraz and Medvedev in the ATP top 10 is sixth seed Alexander Zverev, the German player won 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 against Alex Michelsen.
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