CARLOS ALCARAZ defeated Alexander Zverev in five sets on Friday to reach his first Australian Open final and move one match away from becoming the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.
The world number one beat the German third seed 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-7 (3/7), 6-7 (4/7), 7-5 in a match lasting 5 hrs 27 mins and will face either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final.
Alcaraz had a scare at 4-4 in the third set when he pulled up in pain and appeared to be suffering from cramp. He received treatment at the changeover, which led to protests from Zverev, as medical timeouts are not permitted solely for muscle cramping.
The Spaniard continued but his movement was affected and he lost his first set of the tournament. He later recovered and stayed in the match.
Despite not being at 100 per cent, Alcaraz came back from a break down in the fifth set to win the match.
“Believing all the time,” Alcaraz, who is into his eighth major final and fourth in a row, said of how he got through.
“I always say that you have to believe in yourself no matter what, no matter what struggles you've been through, you've gotta still believe in yourself all the time.
“I was struggling in the middle of the third set. Basically it was one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played in my short career.”
Alcaraz has won two French Opens, two US Opens and two Wimbledon titles, but has not won the Australian Open in four previous appearances.
If he wins the title, he would become the youngest man in the Open era to win all four Grand Slam titles, surpassing Rafael Nadal, who achieved the feat at the age of 24.
The opening set stayed on serve until Alcaraz earned the first break point at 3-3. Zverev saved it, but double-faulted in his next service game to give Alcaraz another opportunity.
Alcaraz broke and served out the set. In the second set, Zverev earned his first break points at 3-2 and converted to lead 4-2.
Alcaraz broke back as Zverev served for the set at 5-3 and forced a tiebreak, which the world number one won.
At 4-4 in the third set, Alcaraz began limping. He held serve and then took a medical timeout before the set went to a tiebreak, which Zverev won.
The fourth set again went to a tiebreak, with Zverev winning to force a decider.
Zverev broke early in the fifth set to lead 2-0, but was broken back while serving for the match at 5-4. Alcaraz broke again to close out the match.
(With inputs from agencies)
