Melbourne [Australia], January 25 (ANI): Carlos Alcaraz defeated 19th seed USA's Tommy Paul 7-6(6), 6-4, 7-5 in the fourth round of the ongoing 2026 Australian Open and continued his impressive run in Melbourne on January 25.

The world No. 1 extended his perfect set record at the tournament to 12-0, as per the ATP website. Paul, who has beaten Alcaraz twice before, started well and took an early 4-2 lead, but Alcaraz recovered quickly and played outstanding tennis to reach his third straight Australian Open quarter-final.

After the win, Alcaraz said Tommy Paul started strongly and made things difficult for the Spaniard early, but he stayed patient, took his chances when they came, and was pleased to win a high-quality match in straight sets.

'I think he started pretty strong. In the first game, serving, I thought I played a good game, but he came with really strong shots, really flat, and for me it was a bit difficult. But I stayed there all the time and I knew I was going to have my chances, and I tried to take them. I think I did that. Overall, I think it was a really high level of tennis from both sides, but I'm just really happy that I got it in straight sets,' said Alcaraz in his on-court interview, as quoted by the ATP website.

Earlier, Stan Wawrinka faced a four-set defeat to Taylor Fritz as he ended his Australian Open career on a bitter note. At 40, Wawrinka became the oldest man to reach the third round since 1978. Following the match, there was a special ceremony held at the John Cain Arena for the Swiss tennis player.

Following the match, Wawrinka said that while this is his final year and each loss brings a farewell, he remains driven to compete and win, while also trying to enjoy the moments and strong support from fans.

'It's my last year, so of course when I'm going to lose in a tournament, it's going to be a goodbye for this tournament, but my mindset is still a competitor and I always want to push myself. I'm trying to find the balance between competitor, trying to win, but in the same time enjoying those moments with the fans, with the atmosphere. And here it was more than I could expect with the support. Every match was something really special, and I really appreciate that,' the 2014 Australian Open winner said. (ANI)