In the third round of the Australian Open, wildcard participant JC Shang was upset by Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz won as his opponent lost in straight sets. As a result, the Spaniard advances to his first-ever round of 16 at the Australian Open, where he will take on Miomir Kecmanovic.
Throughout his professional career, Alcaraz, a highly talented young player, has consistently faced younger opponents. The world No. 2 played a tour-level match against a player who was younger than him for the first time against Shang, and he made the most out of the experience.
After the match, the reporter asked Alcaraz: “You’re just a baby yourself. 20 years old. He’s 18. You’ve never played anyone younger than yourself ever.”
Alcaraz expressed his thoughts about it while laughing and said: “I think tennis is growing. More young players are coming up. It’s great for tennis and the people as well, watching young players play on the stage. I’m glad finally I played a younger player.”
Carlos Alcaraz on facing a younger opponent for the first time in his career
“You’re just a baby yourself. 20 years old. He’s 18. You’ve never played anyone younger than yourself ever.”
Carlos: “Yeah.. I think tennis is growing. More young players are coming up. It’s great for… pic.twitter.com/gMATyDnEh6
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 20, 2024
Alcaraz at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2024
WLWLLWLWWW Now ranked no.2, Alcaraz has managed to achieve a compiled 3-0 record in 2024. The Spaniard is currently having a run at the Australian Open where he toppled the world no.131 Richard Gasquet 7-65 6-1 6-2, the world no.46 Lorenzo Sonego 6-4 6-73 6-3 7-63 and the world no.140 Juncheng Shang 6-1 6-1 1-0 ret..
Carlos Alcaraz will face the world no.60 Miomir Kecmanovic in the 4th round. The head to head is 1-0 for Alcaraz.
Alcaraz won 13 titles in his career: 3 on hard courts, 7 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 2 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
