Alcaraz fends off Zverev and cramps in an epic five-set semifinal to reach the Australian Open final

MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz endured cramps and injury before fending 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. It was the longest match of the tournament so far, and the longest semifinal ever at the Australian Open — surpassing the 2009 classic between Rafael Nadal and Fernando Verdasco.

That's despite him 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. When he led by two sets, Alcaraz appeared to be in the kind of form that won him the U.S. Open last year and helped him evenly split the last eight majors with Jannik Sinner.

After a medical timeout for treatment on his upper right leg, though, Alcaraz's footwork wasn't up to his usual standard. He said initially it didn't feel like cramping because the pain seemed to be just in one muscle, the right adductor, and he needed an assessment.

He navigated the third and fourth sets and was behind in the fifth after dropping serve in the first game. But he kept up the pressure and didn’t break back until Zverev was serving for the match in the 10th. He won the last four games.

“I think physically we just pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the limit,” Alcaraz said. “Just really, really happy to get the win, that I came back. I just rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won.”

The top-ranked Alcaraz will next face either two-time defending champion Sinner or 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic, who is bidding for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles crown.

Believe

Asked how he was able to recover despite being so close to defeat, Alcaraz admitted he was struggling but said kept “believing, believing, all the time.”

“I’ve been in these situations, I’ve been in these kind of matches before, so I knew what I had to do,” he said. “I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it. I fought until the last ball.”

Alcaraz had only lost one of his previous 15 matches that went to five sets. Zverev had a good record in that department, too, at 23-14. But this was the longest match of his career, and Zverev said he ran out of steam.

The drama

In the ninth game of the third, Alcaraz started limping and clutching his upper right leg. After holding for 5-4, he took a medical timeout in the changeover.

Zverev was demonstrably upset, taking it up with a tournament supervisor, when his rival was given the three-minute break for treatment and a massage on the leg.

“He was cramping, so normally you can’t take a medical timeout for cramping,” Zverev said. “What can I do? I didn’t like it, but it’s not my decision.

“But, to be honest, I don’t want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia. It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.”

Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, retained his composure despite Alcaraz’s obvious discomfort and the crowd on Rod Laver Arena being firmly behind the Spaniard.

More than four hours had elapsed when the match went to a fifth set — the first five-setter on the center court in 2026.

Zverev took an early break and fended off five breakpoint chances.

In the sixth game Alcaraz sprinted across court to track down a drop shot and slid at full pace for an angled forehand winner. The crowd went crazy, and Alcaraz was back.

The finish

Alcaraz finally converted a break when Zverev was serving for the match at 5-4.

After holding serve himself and piling all the pressure back on his rival, Alcaraz clinched it on his first match point. He let his racket slip and flopped on the court, lying on his back. By the time he got up, Zverev had come around the net for a congratulatory hug.

“I’m just really happy to have the chance to play my first final here in Melbourne,” Alcaraz said. “It is something that I was pursuing a lot, having the chance to fight for the title.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis