Carlos Alcaraz dismisses Miomir Kecmanovic, sets Alexander Zverev rematch in quarterfinals

Carlos Alcaraz needed just under two hours to dismiss No. 60 Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 under the lights on Rod Laver Arena on Monday—and set up a mouthwatering quarterfinal rematch with No. 6 seed Alexander Zverev.

The two-time Grand Slam winner moved into the last eight at the Australian Open for the first time as he barraged 43 winners including five aces against Kecmanovic in a power-hitting masterclass.

“I pushed him to the limit in every shot and every point,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. “I know he has played a lot of matches in five sets and a lot of tough matches before this one. Probably physically he wasn’t at his 100 percent, and every ball I was pushing him to the limit and moving him side to side.

“I could take my chances in every set, and I think it was a pretty good match from my side.”

With the victory, Alcaraz also completes the Grand Slam set having reached the quarterfinals at every major at least once. It’s a full-circle moment after he made his Grand Slam main draw debut in Melbourne as a 17-year-old qualifier at the 2021 edition.

Up next, Alcaraz gets the resurgent Zverev after the German ousted No. 19 seed Cameron Norrie in a dramatic final-set tiebreak 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (10-3) on Margaret Court Arena earlier in the day.

Zverev leads the pair’s rivalry 4-3, and he’ll get an extra confidence boost going into their first meeting of the year having closed out the 2023 season with a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-4 round robin victory over Alcaraz at the Nitto ATP Finals.

They’ve split their last two Grand Slam meetings as well—both in the quarterfinal stage, too—with Zverev toppling Alcaraz in four sets at 2022 Roland Garros and the Spaniard claiming his revenge a year later at the US Open in straight sets.

“I think if I play at this level, I will have my chances,” Alcaraz said. “Obviously, I saw he has played tough five sets as well, a tiebreak in the fifth set. I think it will be tough for him as well…

“I hope to play a really tough match against him. I love to play against Sascha, we always bring a high intensity and high level of tennis and I think for the crowd as well it will be a great match.”

Alcaraz displayed his highest level of the year against Kecmanovic, who took out No. 14 seed Tommy Paul 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (7), 6-0 in the previous round. Only one break of serve made the difference in each of the first two high-quality sets, as Kecmanovic stayed toe-to-toe with Alcaraz at the outset—before the Spaniard picked up the pace in the third set.

But despite a stern test from the 24-year-old Serbian, he never truly looked in danger as his powerful serve left Kecmanovic very few opportunities to attack: Alcaraz didn’t face a single break point in any of three sets, and won 83 percent of points (39/47) behind his first serve.

“What was working for you tonight in this match?” Jim Courier asked him in their post-match interview. “Well, I think everything,” responded Alcaraz, cueing laughter from the stands. “I did everything perfectly.”