26 January 2017 | Alex Sharp

Defending champion Dylan Alcott celebrated Australia Day by booking his place in the Australian Open quad wheelchair final.

The 26-year-old replicated his form from yesterday, dropping just five games to topple Great Britain’s Andy Lapthorne 6-4 6-1.

“Yeh it was a good crowd, it’s nice having my friends and family, but also faces that you don’t know with new fans of wheelchair tennis,” said Alcott, who defeated Lapthorne in the Rio Olympics final.

“Playing Andy is always tough and it’s a good start.”

However the crowd favourite found himself a break down at 0-3 in front of a packed crowd.

“Yeh, I was having a shocker and he came out really strong, I felt a bit rushed, hitting the ball alright but I wasn’t executing my game plan well,” added the Melbourne local. “At 4-2 down I was a bit worried but then I just managed to relax.

“I never get too flustered, guess that’s one of my traits.”

Having re-composed himself, Alcott rattled off 16 winners to lead 6-4. He staved off a break opportunity to then dominated on return, winning 70 per cent of receiving points to break three times to sweep into the final courtesy of his two straight sets round robin triumphs.

However later on Thursday Alcott with Heath Davidson fell 6-3 6-3 to No.1 seeds Lapthorne and David Wagner in the men’s doubles final.