The 22-year-old Spaniard overcame a first-set struggle to win 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena and will next face either France’s Corentin Moutet or American Michael Zheng, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
Alcaraz had a difficult start against the 34-year-old Hanfmann, who has never won a career title. “I knew he was going to play great. I know his level; I’ve played him a few times already,” said the world number one, who is chasing the record as the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.
Melbourne Park has previously proved challenging for Alcaraz, who has never gone beyond the quarter-finals in his four prior visits, losing last year to Novak Djokovic and in 2024 to Alexander Zverev.
“Honestly, it was tougher than I thought at the beginning. I didn’t feel the ball that good. The ball was coming as a bomb, forehand and backhand,” he added. “Really happy that I got through a really difficult first set and then started to feel a little better on the court.”
Hanfmann, who had never advanced past the second round in 16 previous Grand Slam appearances, started strongly and earned a break point on Alcaraz’s opening serve. Although the Spaniard saved it, a double fault in his next service game handed Hanfmann the early advantage.
Alcaraz quickly regrouped, breaking back with a powerful forehand. The set remained tight, leading to a tiebreak. The turning point came when Hanfmann netted a forehand on serve, giving Alcaraz a 5-4 lead. The Spaniard then served out the marathon first set, which lasted 78 minutes.
Once the first set was over, Alcaraz found his rhythm, racing through the second set in just 43 minutes. Hanfmann, exhausted, required a medical timeout to treat his left shoulder at the changeover.
Despite his efforts, the German was unable to mount a comeback. Alcaraz broke to lead 3-1 in the third set and maintained his dominance to close out the match, adding to a season in which he won a Tour-leading eight titles last year.
