Carlos Alcaraz outlasts Alexander Zverev in 5 hour, 27 minute thriller to reach Australian Open final
MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz overcame cramps and injury to fend off Alexander Zverev in an epic, momentum-swinging five-setter Friday to become the youngest man in the Open era to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam events.At 22, he’s aiming to be the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.He reached his first Australian Open final the hard way, winning 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in 5 hours, 27 minutes.That’s despite being two points away in the third set from a semifinal victory in a tournament where he hadn’t dropped a set through five rounds.He was behind in the fifth set after dropping the first game and didn’t break back until Zverev was serving for the match in the 10th.Alcaraz will next face either two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner or 10-time Australian Open titleist Novak Djokovic, who is bidding for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title.The long afternoon match delayed the start of the night semifinal.The top-ranked Alcaraz was leading by two sets and appeared to be in the kind of form that won him the U.S.
Open last year and has helped him evenly split the last eight majors with Sinner.But in the ninth game of the third, he started limping and appeared to be struggling with an upper right leg problem.After holding for 5-4, he took a medical timeout in the changeover.
It may have been cramp, but he rubbed the inside of his right thigh and called for the trainer, who also massaged the same area.Zverev was demonstrably upset, talking with a tournament official, when his rival was given the three-minute break for treatment.Even with his limited footwork, Alcaraz was able to hit winners and get to 6-5 before the trainer returned in the changeover to massage the area again.When he went back out, the crowd gave him rousing support.Zverev served a double-fault to open the next game, and Alcaraz lobbed and then slapped a forehand winner down the line to get to 0-30.
But Zverev won four straight points to for...