Australian Open LIVE: Alex de Minaur plays world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz

Aussie legend Pat Cash has claimed that players should be given greater privacy at the Grand Slams, in the wake of Coco Gauff’s explosive outburst.

Cash told Radio 5 Sports Extra that it was ‘not right’ that players could only seek a reprieve from the cameras in the locker room.

There are cameras absolutely everywhere and players need to have quiet areas

That’s the only sanctuary a well-known tennis player really gets other than their hotel room.

Players have got to be in the locker room and their hotel room to have any sort of privacy – that’s not really right.

In case you missed it, Coco Gauff fumed following her disappointing straight-sets defeat by Elina Svitolina.

The American star walked straight back into the dressing room and smashed her racket on the ground at least seven times in a fit of rage.

Gauff looked a shade of herself on Rod Laver Arena today, with the world No 3 failing to respond to Svitolina’s powerful advances.

After the match, Gauff delivered a brutally honest answer to questions about her performance and the racket smash.

The American said:

I think for me, I know myself. I don’t want to lash out on my team. They’re good people. They don’t deserve that. I know I’m emotional.

I just took the minute to go and do that. I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I don’t try to do it on court in front of kids and things like that. But I do know I need to let out that emotion…

Otherwise I’m just gonna be snappy with the people around me. I don’t want to do that. Like I said they don’t deserve it. They did their best. I did mine. Just need to let the frustration out.

Gauff had also called for more privacy for players after the camera had caught her furious outburst.

I tried to go somewhere where there were no cameras.

Certain moments – the same thing happened to Aryna after I played her in the US Open final – I feel like they don’t need to broadcast.

Maybe some conversations can be had, because I feel like, at this tournament, the only private place we have is the locker room.

Tennis great Todd Woodbridge has been reflecting on De Minaur’s straight-sets defeat by Alcaraz, and has commended the Aussie star even after he came up short.

It was a rip-roaring match, with De Minaur gallantly fighting back against Alcaraz in the first set. However, despite his best efforts, Alcaraz used his big game experience to shut out the hometown hero, producing an epic display to fend off De Minaur’s advances.

Woodbridge told Channel 9:

Alex de Minaur was playing the best tennis of his career here yet he had no way of feeling comfortable in consecutive points, Woodbridge said post-match.

He’d play a brilliant point and then had to bounce back and do it again.

British tennis legend Tim Henman has given his verdict on Alex de Minaur’s defeat by Carlos Alcaraz.

Taking stock of De Minaur’s stats from the match, Henman told TNT Sports:

When you look at the numbers. From De Minaur, they’re not great. His first service percentage. Points won on first serve is less than 60 per cent. On second serve he was down at 38 per cent. Those are not great numbers but why is that? He only hit 16 winners. One ace. Why is that? So much of it is to do with his opponent. The unforced errors flowed more and he’s going closer to the line, he’s having to hit harder and harder.

On the one hand, he didn’t really play his best, he played better against Bublik. But it’s Bublik, it’s not Alcaraz. That’s where De Minaur could be a little bit disappointed because I think he will feel he could have done things a little differently. Alcaraz is too good.

Jamie Murray, meanwhile, added that he believes De Minaur couldn’t do anything else but play aggressively against Alcaraz. He told TNT Sports:

To give himself a chance, he has to red line it, right? De Minaur is playing at his absolute limits. Alcaraz is not playing at his limits. So there is naturally going to be a few mistakes. But I would not hold that against Alex. He needed to play that way. It didn’t work out for him. If he’s going to stand and dolly the ball into the middle of the court, he’s going to get crushed. Alcaraz is on another world.

Henman added:

This is the predicament for the other 126 people in the draw because when they come up against Alcaraz and Sinner, they have to get out of their comfort zone. They haven’t got to do it for a set, we’re in a Grand Slam. They’ve got to do it across three.

We’ve been trying to figure out the physics behind Alcaraz’s racket flipping technique here at Daily Mail HQ and we’re stumped!

These are some epic skills!

Alcaraz will now take on Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, and believes he needs to up his game once again.

When asked what he needed to do to make his first Australian Open final, Alcaraz said:

I think increase my level. I’ve seen Sasha through the whole tournament and I know he’s playing great tennis. Solid and aggressive. I think he’s serving pretty well as well. I think I have to be ready. We were practising before the tournament began and he beat me 7-6, playing such great tennis.

We’ve got to be ready. We have to play tactically. It’s going to be a good battle and I’m really looking forward to playing here and taking revenge.

Alcaraz then revealed that he will take some time to rest up and potentially play a game of golf during his two day break before he faces Zverev.

Carlos Alcaraz paid a heartfelt nod to his father during the on-court interview.

His dad, who is also called Carlos, is also an accomplished tennis player and was seen standing waving at his son in the crowd after the match.

It’s been a great tournament so far and I’m just really proud and happy to see my dad.

This experience and living these things was his dream when he was playing tennis and I’m just really proud and I’m really happy to see him making his dream with me.

In his post-match interview, Carlos Alcaraz opened up on just how tough it is to play against hard-running Australian Alex de Minaur.

Alcaraz said to Jim Courier:

I’m just really happy with the way I’m playing every match. From the first round, until now I was increasing my level every match and I’m really happy about it.

I was talking with my team about it and they said: “Be patient. Your level is going to come.” I feel really comfortable playing great tennis that I’m really comfortable with and just really happy.

I started the match really well. I made like seven or eight winners. It was a great level. But playing against Alex, you are always in a rush. You want to hit every ball as hard as you can which is impossible against him. But I think from the 3-0 to the 4-3 I wanted to do everything in a rush and I just took a moment, took a break. I was more patient since the 4-4 until the end of the match.

Playing against someone lilke Alex is really difficult. You have to be really focused on the ball and play the point three, four times almost. So that means how difficult it is to play against Alex.

Carlos Alcaraz wraps up the match in style, holding serve with an ace to seal a straight-sets victory against Alex de Minaur.

While the Aussie gallantly battled back against the Spaniard after going 3-0 down in the first set, the six-time Grand Slam champion showed his big game experience shutting out De Minaur, 7-5, 6-2, 6-1.

De Minaur cut a dejected look as he walked off the court, with the Aussie having once again failed to reach a Grand Slam semi-final.

The victory means that Alcaraz has not dropped a set at this year’s Australian Open and will now take a step closer to finally winning a Career Grand

Slam.

He will face off in the men’s singles semi-final against Alexander Zverev.

Alcaraz forces another error from De Minaur.

The Spaniard sends his opponent deep onto his baseline and De Minaur, not for the first time in this match, overcooks his return beyond the baseline to give Alcaraz another break.

The Spaniard will now serve for the match.

Alcaraz 7-5, 6-2, 5-1 De Minaur

He’s hanging in there by a thread, but frustration is beginning to mount for De Minaur, whose hopes of making his first-ever Grand Slam semi-final are waning quickly.

Alcaraz 7-5, 6-2, 4-1 De Minaur

After taking a 6-2 victory in the second set, Alcaraz pressed further on the Australian, who struggled to quell the advances of the six-time Grand Slam winner.

Alcaraz had looked a little shaky on his service throughout the match, with De Minaur capitalising on a few unforced errors from the Spaniard to take a love-30 lead in the third game of the third set.

The two-time Wimbledon champion rallied to pull the game back to 30-30, before gifting De Minaur a break point chance by sending a groundstroke over the baseline.

There was more tough luck for De Minaur, who gave a point back to Alcaraz after missing the baseline by quite literally a millimetre.

The pair duelled again at deuce but Alcaraz would ultimately hold serve, after De Minaur smashed a forehand into the net.

Alcaraz 7-5, 6-2, 3-1 De Minaur