Rod Laver Arena was treated to a festival of trick shots as Carlos Alcaraz continued his smooth Australian Open progress with victory over Corentin Moutet.
The flamboyant Frenchman is one of the few players on tour to possess a similar arsenal of flair to Alcaraz, and what the contest lacked in competitive tension it certainly made up for in entertainment.
Both men produced tweeners, drop shots and lobs aplenty, with Moutet pulling off consecutive underarm serves early in the second set.
The only time a smile left Alcaraz’s face was when his opponent fought back from 3-0 down in that set with a run of four games in a row, but the world No 1 showed this was no exhibition by digging in and pulling away to win 6-2 6-4 6-1.
Next up for Alcaraz is a meeting with 19th seed Tommy Paul, who led Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-1 6-1 when the Spaniard pulled the plug.
“It wasn’t easy when you play someone like Corentin, you don’t know what’s going to be next,” said Alcaraz, who is through to the fourth round without dropping a set.
“That’s really difficult but I had so much fun on the court. I think we both pulled off great shots, great points, there were a few highlights. I’m just grateful to play these type of matches.
“I said to my team, ‘I’m not going to run for another drop shot. I’ve been to the net like 55 times, oh my God’. I thought we were in a drop shot competition, but definitely he won.”
Medvedev and Tien meet again
Three-time former finalist Daniil Medvedev battled from two sets down to reach round four
There will be yet another clash, meanwhile, between three-time former finalist Daniil Medvedev and young American Learner Tien.
The pair met in three memorable matches last year, including in the second round here, when 20-year-old Tien burst into the spotlight by beating the former US Open champion.
Tien has now backed up last year’s run to the fourth round after a 7-6 (11-9) 6-4, 6-2 victory over Nuno Borges, and said: “I think it’s pretty crazy that we end up playing here again a year later. I’m looking forward to it.
“We’ve played three times. All of them have been wars. I think we both make a lot of balls. We both don’t give up too many free points. I think naturally that makes the rallies very long, games very long.”
Medvedev only won one match at the Grand Slams last year but he has already exceeded that tally in 2026 and he fought back from two sets down to defeat Fabian Marozsan 6-7 (5) 4-6 7-5 6-0 6-3.
Learner Tien beat Nuno Borges to book an Australian Open reunion with Daniil Medvedev
He said of facing Tien again: “During the match they showed the scores. Usually I don’t look on TVs or something. This time, I glimpsed. This moment, they were, like, ‘Tien, three sets’. I thought, ‘OK’. And I was two sets to love down.
“‘If I win this one, it’s going to be five sets. It’s going to be very tough, and then I have Learner. But it’s OK’. The thing is that I kind of don’t like to play him, but he must hate to play me as well.
“I’m going to try to enjoy the game of tennis. Of course, try to do my best to maybe surprise him somewhere.”
Watch the ATP and WTA Tours, live on Sky Sports or stream with NOW and the Sky Sports app, giving Sky Sports customers access to over 50 per cent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.