Carlos Alcaraz kicks off Australian Open campaign on a high note

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz went off to the races in the first round of the ongoing Australian Open after sweeping home bet Adam Walton, 6–3, 7–6, 6–2, on Jan. 18, 2025, at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia.

Despite a nine-week layoff from competitive tennis, the 22-year-old Spanish superstar shrugged off any court rust and handed Walton a straight-sets beating in front of his home fans.

Alcaraz immediately stole the momentum during the opener after scoring a much-needed break point that snapped a 2-all deadlock.

After climbing back from a 15–30 deficit, Alcaraz hit back-to-back down-the-line forehand winners to take the game-set lead, capped by a sweet drop shot that Walton failed to anticipate.

From that sequence, Alcaraz began to smell blood and pummeled Walton with a demoralizing 3–1 run for a 1–0 lead.

Too slick and too crafty with his shot selection, Alcaraz effortlessly persuaded the Australian fans to cheer for him after displaying masterful shot selection in the final two sets.

However, Walton roared back after finally bagging a break point midway through the second set, which set up a deciding tiebreaker.

Walton looked comfortable targeting Alcaraz’s backhand side to alleviate the forehand barrage he absorbed in the first set, but the more experienced six-time Grand Slam winner put the crowd on its feet with a series of jaw-dropping net volleys to retake the driver’s seat.

After three consecutive forehand volleys, Alcaraz moved a point away from bagging a 2–0 lead, wrapping up the tiebreaker with a looping backhand loaded with enough topspin to bite through the minimal wind conditions.

Alcaraz then put the final nail in the coffin after clinching a 3–1 lead, giving Walton no room to breathe with a suffocating offensive clinic.

After nearly two hours of tennis, Alcaraz wrapped up the first-round victory with 101 points won, including four crucial break points and 40 on return.

Alcaraz will continue his quest for the first Grand Slam title of the year today as he battles Yannick Hanfmann of Germany, who earlier took down Zachary Svajda to advance.