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Alcaraz Motivated to Topple Australian Open King Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz practices at the Australian Open. DAVID GRAY / AFP
Carlos Alcaraz practices at the Australian Open. DAVID GRAY / AFP
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Alcaraz Motivated to Topple Australian Open King Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz practices at the Australian Open. DAVID GRAY / AFP
Carlos Alcaraz practices at the Australian Open. DAVID GRAY / AFP

Carlos Alcaraz says the challenge of toppling 10-time champion Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open gives him "extra motivation" as he aims to end the Serbian's long reign in Melbourne, AFP reported on Saturday.
The Spanish world number two missed the Grand Slam last year with a leg injury but is seeded to meet Djokovic in the final in Melbourne.
The pair have met five times –- all in semi-finals or finals -– with the veteran leading 3-2.
Djokovic, 36, is unbeaten at the year's opening major since 2018 but Alcaraz, who came out on top in a thrilling Wimbledon final last year, said that only increased his desire to win.
"It's an extra motivation for me," the two-time Grand Slam champion said on Saturday. "I'm an ambitious guy.
"I always want to play against the best players in the world to see what my level is. Obviously it's a good test, playing against him in the places or in the tournament that he's almost unbeaten.
"Yeah, I am looking to reach the final and hopefully playing a final against him. It would be great, obviously."
Alcaraz is aiming to become just the fourth man to win three majors before turning 21 after Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and Mats Wilander.
The 20-year-old chose not play a warm-up tournament before the Australian Open, which starts on Sunday, saying he had to recharge his body and mind.
"We discussed with my team, as well, that we need almost four, five weeks of pre-season to prepare well this season, for the first Grand Slam of the year," he said.
"We have no time if I wanted to play a tournament before the Australian Open. In the end we preferred to come here to the Australian Open, straight to a Grand Slam. I think I'm a guy who doesn't need so much competition before a big tournament."
The Spaniard is in Melbourne without his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who has had knee surgery. Instead he will be coached by Samuel Lopez, who worked with former world number one Ferrero during his playing career.
Alcaraz admitted losing Ferrero was a blow but said he trusted Lopez.
"I believe in him, Juan Carlos, as well," he said of Lopez. "I think I can learn a lot from him as well. Let's see how is going to be. As I said, I trust him 100 percent."

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Swiatek Moves Into 3rd-round Match against Raducanu at Australian Open

Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH
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Swiatek Moves Into 3rd-round Match against Raducanu at Australian Open

Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH
Iga Swiatek of Poland in action during her round 2 match against Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia for the Australian Open at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia, 16 January 2025. EPA/LUKAS COCH

Iga Swiatek rushed through the first set in 26 minutes and completed her 6-0, 6-2 second-round win over Rebecca Sramkova in an hour at the Australian Open.
The five-time Grand Slam champion makes a habit of advancing quickly through the early rounds at the majors. She’s won almost 12% of her sets in Grand Slams by 6-0, which puts her in exclusive company.
So when No. 49-ranked Sramkova ended a seven-game losing run by holding serve on Thursday, she raised her arm to acknowledge the applause from the Rod Laver Arena crowd. It was one of the few chances she had to celebrate.
“It was good to play in such an efficient way and just finish it quick,” Swiatek said. “Also, you know, just feel the court and how it is in RLA.”
Second-seeded Swiatek next faces 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu, who recovered from an early break in the second set to hold off Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-5, The Associated Press reported.
Taylor Fritz hasn't wasted any time advancing to the third round, dropping just eight games across two rounds and spending just over three hours on court.
The 2024 US Open runner-up and No. 4 seed beat Cristian Garin 6-2, 6-1, 6-0 to move into a third-round match against 38-year-old Gael Monfils, who last week became the oldest player to win an ATP Tour title.
Also advancing on the men's side were local hope Alex de Minaur, seeded 8th, No. 16 Lorenzo Musetti, No. 19 Karen Khachanov and No. 21 Ben Shelton, who beat Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4.
Raducanu has struggled with injuries since her breakthrough major in 2021, when she became the first qualifier to win a Grand Slam singles title.
She didn't play a warmup tournament ahead of this year's Australian Open because of a muscle strain and needed time during her match against Anisimova to get treatment on her back from a trainer.
After advancing beyond the second round for the first time at Melbourne Park, the No. 61-ranked Raducanu was confident she'd recover in time for her next challenge against Swiatek.
“It’ll be a very good match for me, another opportunity to test my game,” she said. "Going into it, I have nothing to lose. I’m just going to swing."
Swiatek is moving on from the doping infringement which led to her one-month ban last year. And she's not showing any signs of it being a distraction.
She did everything at pace in the second round, including quick claps of her racket to acknowledge the crowd after her win. Swiatek didn't face a break point against Sramkova and converted five of the six she had. She finished off points with winners off both sides, and also hit some clean volleys on her ventures to the net.
She's feeling slightly less pressure this year, too, after losing the No. 1 ranking to two-time defending Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
“Yeah, there was a lot of pressure starting the year as No. 1, but I think overall last year I didn’t think about it this much anyway," she said. “Also, I realized last year that I don’t have 100% influence on what happens with my ranking sometimes. So now I just focus on tennis.”
Emma Navarro, a US Open semifinalist last year and seeded in the top eight for the first time at a major, was in trouble after two service breaks early in the third set before she reeled off four straight games to beat Wang Xiyu 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
She hopped from the baseline toward the net, and made a big, swirling swing of her arm to underline another tough, three-set victory.
“It was really tough the whole time ... super tough there at the end,” Navarro said. “Found some good tennis there in the last games.”
She'll next play Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam runner-up, who struggled with asthma but held off Camila Osorio 7-5, 6-3.
Sixth-seeded Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion and runner-up in Australia two years ago, registered her 50th win in a Grand Slam main draw singles match when she beat American qualifier Iva Jovic 6-0, 6-3.
No. 9 Daria Kasatkina also advanced 6-2, 6-0 over Wang Yafan and faces No. 24 Yulia Putintseva in the third round.