WATCH: Carlos Alcaraz suffers defeat on his return to Australia, but remains upbeat

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Carlos Alcaraz during a match
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in action

Carlos Alcaraz’s played his first match in Australia in two years on Wednesday and, although the result didn’t go his way, he still managed to get plenty of match practice under his belt.

Reigning Wimbledon champion Alcaraz’s previous appearance Down Under came in 2022 when he lost in the third round of the Australian Open as an 18-year-old with that defeat coming before he shot to fame.

Having missed last year’s Australian swing due to a hamstring injury sustained in training, Alcaraz opted not to play any competitive tournaments ahead of this year’s hard-court Grand Slam at Melbourne Park.

Instead, he signed up for an exhibition match against new world No 10 Alex de Minaur at Rod Laver Arena.

But he was up against an impressive De Minaur who is high on confidence following his victory over world No 1 Novak Djokovic at the United Cup last week.

The Australian made it two wins in two matches against the new “Big Two” as he beat Alcaraz 6-4, 5-7, (10-3) in the unofficial encounter.

But world No 2 Alcaraz still managed to get plenty out of the match, saying: “There’s not a better way to, let’s say, warm up or get ready than playing against Alex in this match.

“I was on course, so I think I’m getting ready.”

Alcaraz will return to Rod Laver Arena on Friday for another exhibition match against Casper Ruud before turning his attention to the Australian Open, which gets underway on Sunday.

For De Minaur, it was his another big scalp as he also beat Taylor Fritz and Alexander Zverev at the United Cup with those results helping him to make his breakthrough in the top 10 of the ATP Rankings.

Naturally, hopes of a home victory at the Australian Open have increased on the back of those results.

“I’m extremely happy. My level is in a good spot coming into Melbourne,” the 24-year-old said. “I’ve had a good 2024, it’s been very good to me so hopefully I can keep it going and I’m excited to get started in front of you guys.”

He added: “I heard a a pretty good quote: ‘How big would you dream if you knew you couldn’t fail?’ So that’s kind of been the motto. I’m pushing myself every day and hopefully the sky’s the limit.”

READ MORE: How Carlos Alcaraz can knock Novak Djokovic off No 1 spot in the ATP Rankings at the Australian Open

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