Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in the Australian Open final after an extraordinary five-and-a-half-hour battle against Alexander Zverev, coming through a match that tested both players physically and mentally.
In Friday’s men’s singles semi-final at the season’s first Grand Slam, the world No 1 from Spain eventually prevailed despite letting a two-set lead slip and dealing with leg problems as the contest wore on. Zverev mounted a dramatic comeback from 0–2 down in sets, but the German third seed was unable to complete the turnaround in one of the longest matches of the tournament.
For Alcaraz, the victory marked a significant milestone at the Australian Open. The 22-year-old from El Palmar arrived in Melbourne already as a six-time Grand Slam champion, having won two titles each at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. Until this year, however, Australia had been the one major where he had never progressed beyond the quarter-finals.
That barrier was broken earlier in the tournament with a commanding straight-sets win over local favourite Alex de Minaur, a result that secured Alcaraz a first-ever semi-final appearance in Melbourne. By reaching the last four, he also became the third-youngest player of the Open Era to make the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments, at the age of 22 years and 258 days. Only Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal achieved the feat at a younger age.
Context
The marathon victory underlines Alcaraz’s growing reputation not only for explosive shot-making, but also for resilience in extended Grand Slam encounters. For Zverev, the semi-final was a painful reminder of how fine the margins are at the very top level, as he pushed the world’s best player to the limit after a remarkable fightback. With the Australian Open final now set, Alcaraz will look to turn his breakthrough run in Melbourne into yet another major title.
