World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is at his mighty best at this year’s Australian Open, after he easily won his third-round match to make the second week. Other players in the men’s draw, including Alex de Minaur and Alexander Zverev, didn’t need to worry too much in their respective Friday matches. LWOT recaps all of Day 6’s tennis below.
Australian Open Day 6 Men’s Recap
Who Looked Good
One lower-seeded player thriving in Australia is Learner Tien. He dismantled Nuno Borges 7-6 (9) 6-4 6-2 in one of the earlier matches on Day 6, winning 73% of points off his first serve and reaching a consecutive Australian Open second week. He’s joined by American Tommy Paul in the fourth round, after Paul dominated before an Alejandro Davidovich Fokina mid-match retirement.
It was an easy day at the office for Alex de Minaur, who went into a tough primetime matchup against Frances Tiafoe on Rod Laver Arena. The Aussie won 6-3 6-4 7-5, and he now commands their head-to-head 4-1. Tiafoe wasn’t able to do enough damage off his usually solid serve, and he hit 12 more unforced errors than winners.
Carlos Alcaraz won his third-round matchup in just over two hours, sweeping Corentin Moutet. There were some hot shots and lots of drop shots, but Alcaraz’s aggression left Moutet helpless from the back of the court.
OH MY ALCARAZ 😱
This is UNREAL 🔥@carlosalcaraz • @wwos • @espn • @tntsports • @wowowtennis • #AO26 pic.twitter.com/fSZZ2aITyo
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 23, 2026
Who Looked Bad
On top of Tiafoe’s showing, Andrey Rublev disappointed. The No. 13 seed crashed out of the tournament to Francisco Cerundolo, who ultimately made the Australian Open second week for the first time. Rublev made too many unforced errors, while Cerundolo only lost serve once in the match; he only faced three break points throughout the whole encounter.
It was tough to see Alejandro Davidovich Fokina unable to hold up physically. The Spaniard had previously battled past Reilly Opelka in a thrilling second round, but the No. 14 seed was hampered by a left hamstring injury. Paul is yet to drop serve this entire tournament.
Match of the Day
There wasn’t too much thrill in the Day 6 matches, with many matches decided straightforwardly. The lone match to go five sets (and only one of two matches not to be completed in straight sets) showcased another bizarre and enticing Daniil Medvedev comeback. He battled against the in-form Fabian Marozsan, winning 6-7 (5) 4-6 7-5 6-0 6-3. Both players were rattled by unforced errors and poor shot selection, but there was plenty of drama in the match.
Leading two sets to none, Marozsan instantly broke serve early in the third set. But Medvedev stayed calm, working his way back into the match. Marozsan crumbled after he lost the third set.
Marozsan hit a costly 69 unforced errors over the course of the match, and Medvedev broke a frustrating 2025 Grand Slam streak; he was unable to make it past any second round last year. Medvedev is now 23-5 since the 2025 US Open, picking up two titles along the way.
Saturday’s action at the Australian Open will decide the remaining eight spots in the second week.
Main Photo Credit: Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
