Carlos Alcaraz is a win away from claiming a career Slam after battling through an extraordinary clash against Alexander Zverev that has become the longest Australian Open semi-final of all time.
Despite throwing up into his towel and struggling with cramping during a section of the match, Alcaraz dug deep to pull off a marathon 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5 win after five hours and 27 minutes of play. 26 minutes short of the longest match to ever take place at the tournament. The showdown on Rod Laver was full of plenty of twists and turns, with Alcaraz suffering severe cramping late in the third set and subsequently receiving a medical timeout, which drew a protest from Zverev. The top seed was then on the ropes for the last two sets, including being down a break in the decider, but still managed to come up with victory.
“I always say that you have to believe in yourself, no matter what you’re struggling with, you’ve been through. You’ve got to still believe in yourself all the time,” Alcaraz said of his record-breaking win in Melbourne.
“I was struggling in the middle of the third set. Physically, it was one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played in my short career.
“(But) I’ve been in these kinds of situations, I’ve been in these kinds of matches before, so I knew what I had to do. I had to put my heart into the match. I fought until the last ball and I knew that I was going to have my chances.”
After winning the first two sets in just over two hours on a warm day at Melbourne Park with temperatures in the late twenties, Alcaraz started to struggle in the third. At 3-3, the Spaniard was heard saying to his team ‘I’ve thrown up. I don’t know if I should take something.’ However, it wasn’t until two games later that a more serious problem took place.
Reaching to get a point at the net, Alcaraz pulled up sharply with pain in his right leg. At the time, it appeared to be cramping, but there was no certainty. Struggling with his movement on the court, he took a medical timeout, which infuriated his opponent.
“He has cramps. What else should it be? This is absolute bullshit. That is unbelieveable. That can not be. You can not be serious. You protect the both of them (including Jannik Sinner). It’s unbelievable,” Zverev told the tournament supervisor during a heated conversation that was mostly in German.
A medical timeout for cramping is not allowed as it is deemed to be a loss of condition. However, the argument for treatment was based on speculation that there could be something more serious.
Amid the turn in events, Zverev maintained his composure to snatch the set as further doubts grew over Alcaraz’s physical ability after he received another medical treatment before the start of the fourth frame. The German then had multiple opportunities to take a stronghold in the fourth set, but was unable to do so. Leading 3-2, he failed to convert two break point opportunities. At 4-3, he couldn’t capitalise on a 30-0 lead, and the same situation happened again when he was leading 5-4.
Zverev’s perseverance finally paid off in the second tiebreak. After failing to make the most of a mini break early on, he worked his way to a 6-4 lead following an Alcaraz backhand error. He then forced proceedings into a tiebreaker with the help of a blistering cross-court forehand winner.
Heading into the decider, time looked to be running out for Alcaraz after he hit a double fault to go down a break at the start. Nevertheless, he still managed to find a way to draw back to level at 5-5, which sent the full-capacity crowd crazy. To Zverev’s credit, he continued fighting, but it still wasn’t enough. Back-to-back Zverev unforced errors at 5-6 handed Alcaraz a match point, which he converted by hitting a shot down the line that his rival returned into the net.
“I was passionate in the fifth set, but just extremely proud of myself in the way that I fought and the way that I came back in the fifth set,” Alcaraz commented.
Alcaraz is the youngest man in the Open Era to reach the final of every major at the age of 22 years and 258 days. He could now become the youngest player to win a career Slam if he triumphs on Sunday. Awaiting him will be either Jannik Sinner, whom he has played in the final of every major during the last season, or 10-time champion Novak Djokovic.
“I’m just happy to have the chance to play my first final in Melbourne. It’s something that I was pursuing a lot,” he said.
“It’s been a great two weeks so far. I think my levels were increasing a lot.
“Hopefully, on Sunday, it’s going to be a great atmosphere. So I can’t wait. But right now, my head is about recovering as much as I can just to try to be in a good state.”
