MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) \u2014 No sooner had Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the Australian Open quarterfinals with a win over Tommy Paul, than attention turned to his serve.<\/p>\n
The top-ranked Alcaraz, in Australia trying to complete a career Grand Slam<\/a> at the age of 22, has been remodeling it a little bit. <\/p>\n It worked well for him on Sunday in a 7-6 (6), 6-4, 7-5 win over No. 19-seeded Paul. There were no double-faults, he got 70% of his first serves into play and won 79% of those points. He also won 68% of points on his second serve.<\/p>\n The retooled start of his service motion has a familiar look, and hasn\u2019t escaped the attention of Novak Djokovic<\/a>. The 24-time major winner joked earlier in the tournament that he\u2019d sent Alcaraz a message<\/a> asking for a copyright fee.<\/p>\n Alcaraz was asked about it in an on-court TV interview on Rod Laver Arena, and played along, too.<\/p>\n \u201cYeah. I heard that. I have the contract over there, but I haven\u2019t seen him yet!\u201d the Spaniard said of his exchange with Djokovic.<\/p>\n Expanding on the theme, he said when videos of the service motion emerged in the pre-season he checked on his phone and had a message from Djokovic which, more or less, said: \u201cAlright, you have to pay!\u201d<\/p>\n Alcaraz said the locker room jokes keep it fun. Seeking an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam title, Djokovic has been blocked in the last two years by Alacaraz and Jannik Sinner<\/a>, who have split the eight titles evenly. The 38-year-old Djokovic got a walkover into the quarterfinals<\/a> when Jakub Mensik withdrew from their fourth-round match because of injury.<\/p>\n One missing element on Alcaraz\u2019s tennis CV is a trophy at Melbourne Park. He has never gone past the quarterfinals. He\u2019ll also likely have the crowd against him against local favorite Alex de Minaur, who advanced with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 10 Alexander Bublik.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand, nothing personal, but the crowd is going to be for him,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cLooking forward to it. I\u2019ve got to be ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n Medical break<\/p>\n Paul reached the Australian Open semifinals in 2023, so had that in his favor going into the fourth-round match with Alcaraz.<\/p>\n The pair were going shot-for-shot in the first-set tiebreaker when a medical episode paused their match for more than 14 minutes.<\/p>\n It was 3-3 when chair umpire Marija Cicak informed them that a spectator at Rod Laver Arena needed urgent medical attention.<\/p>\n The delay lasted so long that the players got to hit up again for a couple of minutes before play resumed, and after the spectator had been helped away from the arena by medical and ambulance staff.<\/p>\n Alcaraz was always in front after that. He broke serve in the pivotal 10th game of the third set and finished off the match in 2 hours and 44 minutes.<\/p>\n The pair hugged at the net, Alcaraz did a little dance move on the court to entertain the crowd, and then applauded the 28-year-old American as he walked off the court.<\/p>\n \u201cOverall, a really high level of tennis from both sides,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cReally happy I got it in straight sets.\u201d<\/p>\n Alcaraz said he was aware of his service stats and, in a kind of humble brag, added \u201cYeah, it\u2019s impressing myself to be honest\u201d across his first four matches<\/a> at Melbourne Park.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter every set I try to check it out \u2013 checking on the screens,\u201d he said. \u201cIn general, I think the four matches that I\u2019ve played (here), the serve has been an important weapon for me.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n