The 26-year-old faces a tough challenge on home soil following Alacaraz’s win against Tommy Paul. The Spaniard is yet to drop a set in Melbourne as he targets his first Australian Open title. De Minaur and Alcaraz have faced off five times, with the latter winning all of their meetings. De Minaur will be eager to end Alcaraz’s streak as he aims to clinch his first major and has previously joked about Alcaraz denying him titles.

One of their five previous meetings came in the ATP500 Rotterdam final in February 2025. It was De Minaur’s second successive final at the event, having lost the title showdown to Jannik Sinner the previous year.

Unfortunately for the world No. 6, his match with Alcaraz also did not go his way as he lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. Despite falling short, De Minaur poked fun at his own misfortune on social media.

After his defeat to Sinner in 2024, the Australian had posted: “I don’t like you anymore @janniksin,” alongside a laughing face emoji. A year later, after losing to Alcaraz in February, De Minaur added to his previous message: “Ahhhhhh I don’t like you either @carlitosalcarazz. Another great week here in @abnamropen, I’ll get the title one day.”

Their upcoming match will not be the first time Alcaraz and De Minaur have played against each other at the Rod Laver Arena. Ahead of last year’s tournament, the pair played in an exhibition match, which came a month after De Minaur had announced his engagement to British tennis star Boulter.

During their post-match interviews, Alcaraz was given the opportunity to congratulate De Minaur, which led to an awkward interaction. “I mean I already told him congratulations. I don’t know if you’re sure about it,” Alcaraz joked, which brought laughter from the crowd.

He continued: “I’ve seen them together at tournaments. I don’t know Katie very much but it seems that she’s a really nice person. I think you’re going to enjoy this marriage and hopefully everything will be all good.”

On Tuesday, both men will be seeking to reach their first Australian Open semi-final. Alcaraz advanced to the quarter-finals with a straight-sets victory against American star Paul, while De Minaur also defeated Kazakhstan’s Bublik in three sets.