An ailing Carlos Alcaraz battled past Alexander Zverev on Friday in a five-set thriller to reach his first Australian Open final, moving within a match of becoming the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.
The world number one outlasted the German third seed 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 in a titanic contest lasting 5 hours 27 minutes in scorching conditions. He will face either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s title showdown.
Alcaraz narrowly avoided disaster at 4-4 in the third set, when he suddenly pulled up in pain with what appeared to be cramp. He received treatment during the changeover, sparking furious protests from Zverev, as medical timeouts are not typically allowed solely for muscle cramping.
The Spaniard limped on, struggling with his movement, and lost his first set of the tournament. But after a dose of pickle juice, he battled back, refusing to surrender despite not being at 100 percent. In the fifth set, he recovered from a break down, rallied under the roaring crowd, and left the German visibly exhausted.
“Believing all the time,” said Alcaraz, who is into his eighth major final and fourth consecutive Grand Slam final. “I always say that you have to believe in yourself no matter what, no matter the struggles you’ve been through. I was struggling in the middle of the third set. Basically, it was one of the most demanding matches I have ever played in my short career.”
Alcaraz, 22, has won two French Opens, two US Opens, and twice at Wimbledon, but victory at Melbourne Park has eluded him in four previous campaigns. A win would make him the youngest man in the Open era to win all four majors, surpassing compatriot Rafael Nadal, who achieved the feat at 24.
The match began on serve, with few meaningful rallies until Alcaraz unleashed a backhand winner at 3-3 in the first set to earn his first break point. Zverev held, but faltered on the next, double-faulting under pressure to hand the Spaniard the set.
Zverev raised his level in the second set, earning break points and forcing a tense tiebreak. Alcaraz prevailed with a scorching forehand. But at 4-4 in the third, disaster struck again as he limped badly, taking a medical timeout before succumbing in the tiebreak.
The fourth set mirrored the third, with Alcaraz holding serve despite limited mobility, only to lose another tiebreak. In the decider, Zverev broke early to lead 2-0 and later served for the match. Yet Alcaraz showed remarkable resilience, breaking back at 5-5 and again to finally seal the epic victory.
