Alcaraz, Sabalenka cruise into Australian Open third round

Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka win in straight sets in third round action at Melbourne Park.Published On 21 Jan 2026Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka have powered into the third round at the Australian Open.World number one Carlos Alcaraz fended off a series of “bombs” before surging into the Australian Open third round on Wednesday, where he was joined by Aryna Sabalenka and a near-flawless Coco Gauff.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4Roaring crowd helps Turkiye’s Sonmez storm into Australian Open 3rd roundlist 2 of 4Vinicius defies boos with star turn in Real Madrid’s 6-1 UCL rout of Monacolist 3 of 4Jesus brace helps Arsenal down Inter to seal Champions League qualificationlist 4 of 4Champions League: Liverpool gunning for top-eight spot against Marseilleend of listThree-time finalist Daniil Medvedev also stayed alive, but he needed four sets to keep his Grand Slam dream on track at a cooler and overcast Melbourne Park after days of hot weather.Spanish superstar Alcaraz came through a tough arm-wrestle 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena against hard-hitting Yannick Hanfmann of Germany to take another step towards a career Grand Slam.But he was put through his paces by a player 12 years older before setting up a showdown with either France’s Corentin Moutet or American Michael Zheng.“To be honest, it was tougher than I thought at the beginning,” said Alcaraz, who already has six major titles but has never gone past the last eight in Melbourne.“I didn’t feel the ball that good. You know, the ball was coming as a bomb, forehand and backhand.”If the 22-year-old does win the Australian Open to complete the career Grand Slam of all four majors, he will be the youngest man to do so, surpassing compatriot Rafael Nadal.The unpredictable Medvedev, runner-up in 2021, 2022 and 2024, is trying to keep his emotions in check this year and was on his best behaviour against Frenchman Quentin Halys.He lost a tight first set but the result was never in doubt as he surged to the finish line 6-7 (9/11), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.