World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz defeated France’s Corentin Moutet in straight sets in the third round of the Australian Open at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday. The Spaniard registered a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 victory to advance to the fourth round of the Happy Slam.

The number one seed took a 3-0 lead in the second set but then lost the next four games, but took a crucial break at 4-4. In the third set, it was a one-way battle once Alcaraz got an early break.

“It wasn’t easy,” Alcaraz said. “When you play someone like Corentin, you don’t know what’s going to be next. That’s really difficult to approach the match, but I had so much fun with it on the court. I think we both pulled off great shots, great points. I think there were a few highlights in the match. I’m grateful to play this kind of match against him.”

Alcaraz was made to work by Moutet, who nailed the drop shots to perfection.

“I thought we were in a drop shot competition,” Alcaraz joked. “Definitely, he won.”

Alcaraz will next take on America’s Tommy Paul in the fourth round on Sunday. The Spaniard leads Paul 5-2 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“We have great battles against each other,” Alcaraz said of his clashes with Paul, a 2023 semi-finalist in Melbourne. “It’s always really difficult to play against him. He plays great tennis on hard courts with that flat backhand that he slices a lot, aggressive, great touch. It’s going to be a really interesting one.”

Alcaraz won his 100th major match, tying with legendary Bjorn Borg for the best win-loss record at 87-13.