Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal.

Carlos Alcaraz eclipsed a Rafael Nadal Grand Slam milestone as he cruised into Round 3 of the Australian Open on Wednesday.

The Spaniard dropped just five games against Yoshihito Nishioka, beating the Japanese 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 to set up a third-round match against Nuno Borges.

It was another sublime performance from Alcaraz, who has dropped just 12 games in total across his opening two matches – following a 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 win over Alexander Shevchenko earlier this week.

Alcaraz made his Grand Slam main draw debut at the Australian Open four years ago aged 17, and this will be his final major before turning 22 in May.

His victory over Nishioka was his 26th hard court Grand Slam match win before that birthday, eclipsing the total attained by his idol Rafael Nadal.

Former world No 1 Nadal won 25 hard court Slam matches before his 22nd birthday, with his final major before that point being the 2008 Australian Open – where he was a beaten semi-finalist.

Alcaraz also moves above Roddick (25) to move fifth on the all-time list – though he could become the record holder by the end of the Australian Open.

If he wins his third-round match against Borges, he will match Marat Safin (27), and if he progresses to the fourth round, he will match Pete Sampras and Lleyton Hewitt (28).

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If Alcaraz wins his quarter-final, he will match Novak Djokovic’s record of 29 wins and break that record if he reaches the final.

However, he could have to face Djokovic in the quarter-final if he wants to go any further in the draw.

Alcaraz’s most notable success at a hard court major was his epic 2022 US Open triumph, where he beat the likes of Marin Cilic, Jannik Sinner, and Casper Ruud to lift the first of four Grand Slam titles.

The Spaniard was also a US Open quarter-finalist in 2021 and a semi-finalist in 2023, with his best result to date at the Australian Open being his quarter-final run in 2024.

What makes Alcaraz’s standing in this statistic even more impressive is that he missed the 2023 Australian Open due to injury while he was ranked No 1 in the world.

It is not impossible to think that, had he played that tournament, he would already hold this record.

Carlos Alcaraz Grand Slam Hard Court wins

2021 Australian Open
R1: def Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 [1]
R2: l. Mikael Ymer 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(5)

2021 US Open
R1: def Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 [2]
R2: def Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 [3]
R3: def Tsitsipas 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2), 0-6, 7-6(5) [4]
R4: def Peter Gojowczyk 7-5, 1-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-0 [5]
QF: l. Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 3-1r

2022 Australian Open
R1: def Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 [6]
R2: def Dusan Lajovic 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 [7]
R3: l. Matteo Berrettini 6-2, 7-6(3), 4-6, 2-6, 7-6(5)

2022 US Open
R1: def Sebastian Baez 7-5, 7-5, 2-0r [8]
R2: def Federico Coria 6-2, 6-1, 7-5 [9]
R3: def Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 [10]
R4: def Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 [11]
QF: def Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 [12]
SF: def Frances Tiafoe 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-3 [13]
F: def Casper Ruud 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1), 6-3 [14]

2023 US Open
R1: def Dominik Koepfer 6-3, 32r [15]
R2: def Lloyd Harris 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(4) [16]
R3: def Dan Evans 6-2, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 [17]
R4: def Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 [18]
QF: def Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 [19]
SF: l. Daniil Medvedev 7-6(3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3

2024 Australian Open
R1: def Richard Gasquet 7-6(5), 6-1, 6-2 [20]
R2: def Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3, 7-6(3) [21]
R3: def Jerry Shang 6-1, 6-1, 1-0r [22]
R4: def Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 [23]
QF: l. Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-3 6-7(2), 6-4

2024 US Open
R1: def Li Tu 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 [24]
R2: l. Botic van de Zandschulp 6-1, 7-5, 6-4

2025 Australian Open
R1: def Alexander Shevchenko 6-1, 7-5, 6-1 [25]
R2: def Yoshihito Nishioka 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 [26]
R3: vs Nuno Borges [TBC]

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