Carlos Alcaraz is facing Alex de Minaur in a pre-tournament exhibition match at the Australian Open.

The Spaniard took an early break to lead 4-1 and told Andrea Petkovic: “Honestly, I’m surprised with myself! I didn’t expect to be playing such a great level in the first match of the season.

“I’ve been doing great, great practices this week. This is my third day here so I’m starting with a little bit of jet lag. But I’m trying to do the best of myself and, like I said, I’m surprised in myself, honestly.”

Petkovic also noticed a change in Alcaraz’s serve but he kept his cards close to his chest on the exact tweaks he made.

“Yeah, I changed a little bit the movement, the rhythm of the serve just a little bit,” he said.

“The serve is something that I knew I had to improve. I think I’m doing great things on the serve. In the beginning of the pre-season with my team we discussed how I had to do the movement of the serve.”