Coach and confidante Juan Carlos Ferrero can’t have enjoyed breaking the news to Carlos Alcaraz when he couldn’t make the trip Down Under for last year’s Australian Open.
There was never an ideal time for knee surgery, but an arthroscopy and crutches could not wait. If anyone was sure to accept it without fuss, it was Alcaraz.
Back on deck, crutches no more, Ferrero’s return as chief coach alongside 2024’s Melbourne Park mentor Samuel Lopez means it’s all systems go for the Spanish collective in the world No.3’s pursuit of a career Grand Slam this fortnight.
“Juan Carlos is with me six years now. He knows me really well,” Alcaraz said. “He knows what I need during the matches, how the things have to be said during the matches.
“As I said last year, for me, Juan Carlos is really important. I really like being with him in the tournaments. But last year, for example, I was with Samuel who right now is my second coach. I trust him 100 per cent as well … I mean, for me, being with Juan Carlos and having him here is great.”
It all bodes well for the 21-year-old’s push towards the second week as he bids for a second successive win over Portugal’s world No.33 Nuno Borges, the highest-ranked unseeded player in the draw, on Friday at Rod Laver Arena.
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Borges announced himself at last year’s Australian Open when he upstaged Grigor Dimitrov to reach the fourth round at a major for the first time, and in July at the Swedish Open he became just the fifth man to deny Rafael Nadal in a clay-court final for his maiden tour title.
Alcaraz needed no reminding that the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup was his last remaining major trophy outstanding.
“For me, the Australian Open is a tournament that I really want to win one day,” he said.
“Hopefully, maybe this year. Juan Carlos is one of those people I have more confidence on my side if I see him in the box, so I’m just really, really happy to have him this year. Hopefully it’s going to be a good run.”
While Alcaraz was yet to drop a set in his first two outings, 10-time champion Novak Djokovic has not had it so easy.
Four-set victories over two players ranked outside the top 100 have raised alarm bells in some corners, but not 26th seed Tomas Machac’s.
The 24-year-old picked up a win over Alcaraz to reach the Shanghai Masters semifinal last year – a match which the Spaniard hailed as like facing a “top-five player” – and has beaten his more fancied foe last season on clay, en route to the Geneva final.
“I will not show up with my game preparation right now. It will be secret,” Machac said.
“With Novak, you never know. He's one – not one of the best, he's the best. You never know with this guy. I try to play my game. We will see what's gonna happen. Really, he's the best.”
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka continues her bid for a three-peat at Melbourne Park when she meets in-form Danish world No.42 Clara Tauson for the first time.
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Both women know a thing or two about winning streaks of late. Sabalenka notched her 16th straight Grand Slam hard-court match win over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, while Tauson has claimed her first seven matches of the new season after collecting the title in Auckland.
Despite the demise of fifth seed Zheng Qinwen from Sabalenka’s quarter, the two-time champion was adamant it was not necessarily an easier path.
“Listen, it's a Slam, you know? Not everyone can handle these emotions,” she said. “Once again, as you see, there is so many players who are playing really well in these conditions. It's not like if they’re gone, it's easy for me. No, it's not.
“I have to go there, I have to compete, I have to fight. Today's match proved that. Girls can go there and just play without any fear, without anything to lose.”
Like Sabalenka, third seed Coco Gauff pulled through a tricky test in the second set of her second-round encounter against Jodie Burrage before she punched her ticket to the third round.
The 20-year-old has notched 20 wins from her past 22 matches, including her unbeaten role in Team USA’s United Cup triumph, ahead of her clash against 30th seed Leylah Fernandez.
One of those United Cup victories in Perth was a straight-sets ledger against the Canadian, whose best result at a major remains her run to the US Open 2021 final.
“She's going to be aggressive. That's her game,” Gauff said. “She's a great mover. She's going to hit some great shots ... Slam finalist and has great results against top players. I expect her to play great tennis. I just hope I can do the same.”
Gauff’s compatriot, seventh seed Jessica Pegula, has conceded just nine games through her opening two rounds ahead of a clash against Serbian lefty Olga Danilovic.
Last year’s US Open finalist struck form in her first event of the season when she reached the Adelaide title match before a defeat to Madison Keys.
Danilovic, who brushed past 25th seed Liudmila Samsonova in the previous round, could equal her best result at a major should she level the head-to-head against Pegula at 1-all.