MELBOURNE, Australia -- Third seed Carlos Alcaraz dropped his first set of the tournament but still safely secured his passage into the fourth round of the Australian Open with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-3 victory over Nuno Borges on Friday.
The 21-year-old Spaniard has quietly but authoritatively gone about his business in the first week of the tournament as teenagers ousted seeds, Jannik Sinner progressed in his title defense and Novak Djokovic continued his quest for a 25th major crown.
Two conversions from four break points were enough for Alcaraz to take the first set. He won again in the second, before the experienced Portuguese No. 1snatched the momentum back at the end of the third.
Borges blew one set point at 6-5 by going long with a return but made no mistake in the tiebreak to claim the set and leave Alcaraz seething in his chair.
The four-times Grand Slam champion came out in the fourth set like a man on a mission, breaking at the first opportunity for 2-0 with a spectacular over-the-shoulder pass from the back of the court.
A huge roar of "Vamos!" echoed over the sunbathed Rod Laver Arena and from that point Alcaraz's place in the fourth round for the 11th time in 16 Grand Slam campaigns looked assured.
The remainder of the set from Alcaraz was venomous serving, a few sumptuous drop shots and the customary barrage of forehand winners, the 35th of which brought up match point after just under 3 hours on the court.
"I missed Rod Laver Arena," Alcaraz said after Borges, ranked No. 33 in the world, had dumped the final shot of the match into the net.
"I'm just really happy to be able to play here once again and show my best tennis here. It's been a pleasure whenever I step on this court, it's a beautiful court. The last time I played here, I lost so I really wanted a win here."
Alcaraz next will face Britain's Jack Draper or local hopeful Aleksandar Vukic in the fourth round on Sunday.
He already has two Wimbledon crowns and one title each at the US and French Open, so the Australian Open, where his best result was his quarterfinal appearance last year, would count as his least successful Grand Slam.
Tattoos commemorate his triumphs at the other three majors. He marked his body with the date of his first major title, which came at the 2022 US Open; a strawberry to represent the first of his two Wimbledon triumphs, in 2023; the Eiffel Tower for last year's French Open victory.
What might he choose if he is the last man standing in Rod Laver Arena on Jan. 26?
"It'll be a kangaroo," he said on court to cheers from the crowd.
"The only thing that I'm (missing is) to lift the trophy here, but the plan and the idea is already (there)."
Djokovic stepped up a level in his Australian Open third round match against Tomas Machac, brushing the Czech aside 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 with a vintage performance to reach the second week at Melbourne Park for the 17th time.
Also Friday, second-seeded Alexander Zverev beat Jacob Fearnley 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, and American Tommy Paul downed Roberto Carballes Baena 7-6 (0), 6-2, 6-0 to advance to the fourth round.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina had a much more difficult path, coming back from two sets down for the second match in a row and saving two match points to sneak past 19-year-old Jakub Mensik 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-2. Davidovich Fokina is the first man since 2005 to win twice in a row in Australia after falling behind 0-2 in sets.
Information from The Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.