Classy Alcaraz eases past Borges to reach fourth round in Melbourne

Carlos Alcaraz, the No 3 seed, moved into the last 16 of the Australian Open by winning against Portuguese Nuno Borges 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-2.

The Spaniard was in typically scintillating form under the heat of the afternoon Melbourne sun, with the first two sets racing by with little concern for the world No 3.

A third-set wobble came as Borges showed his grit to come through a tiebreak and extend the contest. But business resumed as usual soon after as Alcaraz raced through the fourth and final set to wrap up another straightforward win.

In reaching the fourth round in Melbourne this year, the Spaniard has become the fourth man earn 10 wins across each of the four Grand Slams as records continue to tumble around him early in his career.

Alcaraz, ranked No 3, will play the winner of the match between No 15 seed Jack Draper and Australian Aleksandar Vukic next.

Ahead of his victory, the 21-year-old Spaniard beat Kazakh Alexander Shevchenko (6-1, 7-5, 6-1) and Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (6-0, 6-1, 6-4).

Borges, ranked No 33, edged out Frenchman Alexandre Muller (6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-2, 7-5) and won against Australian Jordan Thompson, the No 27 seed (6-3, 6-2, 6-4) earlier in the tournament.

Melbourne (Grand Slam), other third-round results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 60.627.573, most recent results first):

• Miomir Kecmanovic vs. Holger Rune
• Jannik Sinner vs. Marcos Giron
• Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Musetti
• Corentin Moutet vs. Learner Tien
• Lorenzo Sonego vs. Fabian Marozsan
• Francisco Cerundolo vs. Alex De Minaur
• Taylor Fritz vs. Gael Monfils
• Alex Michelsen vs. Karen Khachanov
• Jack Draper vs. Aleksandar Vukic
• Novak Djokovic vs. Tomas Machac
• Ugo Humbert vs. Arthur Fils
• Jiri Lehecka vs. Benjamin Bonzi
• Jakub Mensik vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: friday
• Alexander Zverev (2) beat Jacob Fearnley: 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
• Tommy Paul (12) beat Roberto Carballes Baena: 7-6, 6-2, 6-0