Alcaraz pushes past Hanfmann to advance in Melbourne
Carlos Alcaraz overcame a determined Yannick Hanfmann to move into the next round of the Australian Open on Wednesday.
After his first-round win, Alcaraz drew comparisons to Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg, and he showed more of that potential in his second-round performance against Hanfmann.
Alcaraz found himself down 1-3 early in the opening set but quickly turned things around, eventually coming through with a 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
Speaking after the match, Alcaraz said he wasn’t surprised by Hanfmann’s level. “I played him before on the Challenger Tour,” he said. “I know how tough it is to face him.”
The Spaniard also spoke about some recent changes to his game that may have played a role in helping him navigate Wednesday’s test.
Alcaraz opens up on changes to both his game and mindset
Asked what stood out most about his evolution over the past couple of years, Alcaraz responded: “Well, I mean, I don’t know. I would say probably technical part. I think the serve is a shot that I doing a lot of changes, you know, probably the last year.
“No other shot I’ve been changing anything or I’ve been putting so much attention on it.”
Over the 2025 off-season, Alcaraz was seen working on his ball toss with coach Samuel Lopez.
He’s since tweaked parts of his motion as well – enough that some have started drawing comparisons to Novak Djokovic.
“But outside in terms of shots, I just adjust myself about how you behave, how I talk to myself, how I just approach every match, how I approach every tournament,” he said. “In some really difficult moments in the match, how do deal with them.”
Moutet has never faced Alcaraz before but has produced some strong form in 2025. The Frenchman won 6-4 6-2 against Jordan Thompson at Adelaide International and beat Nicolas Moreno De Alboran and Laslo Djere at this year’s Australian Open.
Alcaraz and Moutet’s unique Australian Open matchup
Carlos Alcaraz will face 32nd seed Corentin Moutet in the third round of the Australian Open.
According to OptaAce, this will be just the second men’s singles match at a Grand Slam between the top seed and number 32 seed since the seeding system expanded in 2001.
The only other instance came when Roger Federer took on Nicolas Massu at Roland Garros in 2006.
Alcaraz, who is scheduled to play on Friday, has not previously met Moutet on the ATP Tour.
The winner of this match will move on to play either Tommy Paul or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the fourth round.
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