Spain's Carlos Alcaraz hits a return to France's Corentin Moutet during their men's singles match on day six of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 23, 2026. (Photo: Xinhua)

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz breezed into the last 16 of the Australian Open after a straight-sets thrashing of 32nd seed Corentin Moutet of France on Friday.

Alcaraz, a six-time Grand Slam winner, is slowly building towards his best and he hit 30 winners in a straightforward 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 victory in just over two hours.

Having not hit top form in his opening two matches, Alcaraz was in the zone under the sun on the center court of Rod Laver Arena and brushed aside Moutet in a 35-minute first set.

The Spaniard remained untroubled and won his third consecutive match in straight sets in an ominous sign for rivals.

The 22-year-old is determined to win the only Grand Slam title that has eluded him, having never progressed past the quarterfinals at Melbourne Park.

Alcaraz will next play American 19th seed Tommy Paul, who was leading 6-1, 6-1 before 14th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain retired due to injury in their third round match.