Melbourne, Australia, Jan 15 (EFE).- Carlos Alcaraz dominated Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets to storm into the Australian Open third round, while Naomi Osaka staged a thrilling comeback to book her spot in the next stage after a hard-fought win over Karolina Muchova on Wednesday.
The Spanish tennis star advanced to the next round with a dominant 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Japan’s Nishioka.
The 21-year-old showcased a blend of power and finesse, effortlessly shifting into showtime mode whenever necessary. Alcaraz dropped only four points in the first set, winning the first nine games before Nishioka finally held serve.
“The less time you spend on court in the Grand Slams, especially at the beginning of the tournament, it’s going to be better, especially physically,” Alcaraz said. “I’m feeling great, but yeah, I just tried to be focused and spend as less time as I can.”
His serve was a lethal weapon, in particular, winning 89 percent of first-serve points and blasting 14 aces. After one of his aces, he jokingly signed the camera. “Am I a serve bot?”
“I felt much better today with the serve,” Alcaraz said. “Just ironic things that I must have (been a serve) bot, but I think I have to improve it a lot if I want to put my name on that list.
“I felt really well today with the serve. Yesterday, I was really focused on the serve in the practice. I spent more time serving yesterday.”
He said his discussion with Juan Carlos Ferrero on how to improve the serve helped him a lot.
“I felt more comfortable on it, yes. I think the serve is about confidence and feelings. Today I felt great… I think yesterday’s practice was really helpful for today.”
In the women’s draw, Naomi Osaka secured her place in the third round after a 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Karolina Muchova in nearly two hours.
The 27-year-old was visibly relieved to reach the round of 32 at a Grand Slam for the first time since July 2023.
“I felt like I left everything I had on the court,” she said. “It means a lot, she (Muchova) is an incredibly difficult opponent for me to play.”
The two-time Australian Open champion lost to the Czech star in straight sets at last year’s US Open but came back from a set down in Melbourne.
Osaka jokingly referred to the match as her “little revenge,” referencing her loss to Muchova in New York. “She crushed me at the US Open when I had my best outfit ever. I was so mad.”
In other Day 4 action, seventh seed Jessica Pegula ended her losing streak against Elise Mertens with a 6-4, 6-2 victory. Pegula fired 24 winners, calling her performance “strategically perfect.”
14th seed Mirra Andreeva survived a tense third-set battle, overcoming Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 [10-8]. The 17-year-old, making her top-16 debut, will next face 23rd seed Magdalena Frech, who advanced with a 0-6, 6-0, 6-2 win over Anna Blinkova. EFE
spo-sk
