WATCH| Fan's Cheeky Quip Leaves Carlos Alcaraz In Splits At Australian Open 2nd Round

Six-time Grand Slam winner Carlos Alcaraz faced an early scare when he faced German player Yannick Hanfmann on January 21, 2026, before he swatted past him to book his place in the third round of the Australian Open. Alcaraz is now set to face either France's Corentin Moutet or American student Michael Zheng in the third round.

As Carlos Alcaraz chases his maiden Australian Open title, he has been facing comparisons with fellow Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal. In fact, one such comparison was made in the second round of the Australian Open when Alcaraz was facing Yannick Hanfmann.

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Carlos Alcaraz In Splits After Witty Quip

During the match on Wednesday, while Carlos Alcaraz was preparing to serve, a fan in the audience suddenly shouted, 'Carlos Nadal.' Hearing this, Alcaraz couldn't hold in his laughter and looked amused by the witty remark from the fan. However, he did not let this comment distract him from the task at hand as he went on to secure a win against Yannick Hanfmann.

Following the match, while talking about his opponent, Alcaraz shared, "I knew he was going to play great. I mean, I know his level. I played him a few times already."

He further added, "To be honest, it was tougher than I thought at the beginning. I didn't feel the ball that good. You know, the ball was coming as a bomb, forehand and backhand. Really, really happy that I got through a really difficult first set and then I started to feel a little bit better on the court."

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Carlos Alcaraz Advances To Australian Open Third Round

The Spaniard came through 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena to qualify for the next round. The turning point of the match came when Hanfmann netted a forehand on serve to give Alcaraz a 5-4 advantage, and Alcaraz responded with a marathon set that lasted nearly 78 minutes.

Carlos Alcaraz quickly took control of set two, cruising past it in just 43 minutes. After Hanfmann's medical time out, the Spaniard scored a break to move 3-1 clear and made no mistakes in finishing the match in his favor.