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Carlos Alcaraz was visibly taken aback following an outburst from a fan during his Australian Open victory over Yannick Hanfmann. The young Spaniard breezed through in straight sets before thrashing Corentin Moutet in similar fashion on Friday morning. Alcaraz, who is yet to drop a set at Melbourne Park, will face Tommy Paul in the fourth round on Sunday.

During his match against Hanfmann, the 22-year-old needed a tiebreak to win the opening set before turning the screw in the second. He was preparing to serve to go 4-1 up when a fan shouted out from the crowd, leaving Alcaraz stunned. The supporter name-checked his idol, Rafael Nadal, yelling: "Carlos Nadal!"

Alcaraz looked in the general direction of the fan before turning away and looking at the ground, clearly humbled that he was being mentioned in the same breath as his legendary compatriot.

He smiled and shook his head as the rest of the crowd laughed along, before things calmed down and Alcaraz was able to serve.

The youngster rarely shies away from speaking highly of Nadal and the comparison is obvious, given their shared nationality and his wealth of Grand Slam pedigree at such an early point in his career.

Alcaraz has been viewed as Nadal's natural successor but in a Netflix documentary last year, he insisted that he didn't want to be thought of as such.

"I don't want to be called Rafa's successor," said Alcaraz. "I want to be called Carlos Alcaraz Garfia."

Nadal defended Alcaraz's stance, saying: "When you're young and they're constantly comparing you to some professional that's been on the circuit for many years, there are times you get tired of hearing it.

"This leads to an excess of pressure and in the end, I think it can distort your daily life and even confuse you."

Alcaraz knows there is a long way to go before he can be considered on the same level as Nadal, who won 22 major titles before retiring from tennis in 2024.

Speaking four years ago, the two-time Wimbledon champion said that he was hoping to achieve 'at least half' of what Nadal did over his legendary career.

He added: "I try to keep the good part and see that all this does not go to my head. In the end, beating your idols is an incredible achievement.

"I try to take it normally and never forget that whatever happens in the future, I have to enjoy tennis and play at my level."