Carlos Alcaraz began his bid to become the youngest man in history to complete the career Grand Slam with a – mostly – smooth win over a big-serving opponent.
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Alcaraz dazzled with his vast repertoire to beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-1 7-5 6-1 in the night session at Australian Open 2025 on Monday.
“Just really happy with the level I played,” he said on court afterwards. “Getting into competition again.”
The 21-year-old donned a sleeveless shirt at Margaret Court Arena – not an unusual look for him – but came to Melbourne Park with a new haircut, service motion and heavier racquet.
As great as he is – the owner of four Grand Slam titles already – tennis players always seek improvements, and Alcaraz is no different.
His toolkit certainly is.
Hailing from Spain will always lead to comparisons with Rafael Nadal, but as Alcaraz has routinely said himself, his game aligns closer with Roger Federer.
There might have been some nerves for the third seed in the early going since this was his first match of the season and first major since being upset by Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the US Open.
Whether or not that was the case, world No.77 Shevchenko earned a break point in Alcaraz’s opening service game.
Alcaraz kicked a second serve to avert danger, then sealed the game in a rally that saw a deft Alcaraz lob and Shevchenko tweener.
The sequence set the wheels in motion for one of those two-game swings often seen in tennis.
Ramping up the pace – crushing a forehand down the line – helped Alcaraz break to love. The cries of “let’s go” from Shevchenko disappeared.
Alcaraz ended the opener by slashing a forehand cross court from well behind the baseline, drawing a smile from coach and former No.1 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the new court-level coaching box.
Now hanging on, the crowd rallied around Shevchenko as he faced more break points to begin the second.
He must have wondered what he needed to do to win a point when at 1-2 in the second, he struck an angled serve that dragged Alcaraz well wide.
But a venomous forehand return ensued.
Alcaraz has spoken about how the best-of-five set format can lead to – for him – drops in concentration.
It seemed to happen when he was broken at 3-1 (from 30-0) as Shevchenko levelled.
Another break came and soon Shevchenko – whose game was honed by Dominic Thiem’s former coach, Gunter Bresnik – closed in on the set.
Would the 24-year-old hold his nerve to serve it out?
Alcaraz never let him into the game, raising his level as part of a four-game surge.
The fun wasn’t done, however. Alcaraz authored a forehand volley with crazy backspin in the final game. Shevchenko stretched his arms wide in disbelief and smiled before the two exchanged a warm hand slap.
Alcaraz joked afterwards that he sometimes finds it hard to hit cleanly in golf – a passion of his – but he had no such worries on the tennis court.
He next faces Japan’s crafty lefty, Yoshihito Nishioka.
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“He’s a really solid player. I have to be focused on my shots, put my game into the match,” said Alcaraz, who beat Nishioka in their lone previous tussle.
“I think I’m doing the right things. I know it’s going to be tough. I’ll try to do my best, for the (fans) as well.”
He usually does.