Key events
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 0-1 6-7 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) A little but more movement evident from Alcaraz in the first exchanges but he’s unable to lay a glove on Zverev – the German holding to love.
Every eye, every camera, and everything else capable of comprehending light bouncing off shapes at Rod Laver Arena is now trained on Alcaraz: attempting to figure out just what kind of physical shape the world number one is in. Phwoar, what a turn of events.
Time on is called and both players head back out onto the court.
Zverev takes the third set against a hobbled Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 6-7 (7-3) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) Right, huge tiebreak coming up. Because based on how Alcaraz is moving and protecting himself right now, getting through a fourth set is no sure thing for the Spaniard.
He takes the first point with an overhand smash winner but Zverev answers back with two unreturnable serves. A backhand return into the net by the German levels things but he then grabs the mini-break when Alcaraz drags a forehand wide.
Alcaraz misses on a forehand to fall further behind as the players change ends, with three hours of match time just brought up, with Zverev then surging further ahead to take a 6-2 lead and bring up four set points.
The world number one saves the first with a deft drop shot Zverev doesn’t attempt to pursue but the serve then goes back to the German and he takes things with an ace.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 6-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) For a match that looked to have had most of the drama sucked out of it, this is suddenly absolute box office. AND NOW ZVEREV DOUBLE FAULTS. AND NOW ALCARAZ STANDS ON THE SPOT AND WHIPS A FOREHAND WINNER DOWN THE LINE.
Zverev fires down a much-needed ace to respond, it definitely looks like this, especially Alcaraz being granted a medical timeout when he feels he shouldn’t be allowed one, has all knocked him off his mental game. Alcaraz sends a return long to return things to 30-30 and then lofts a lob just long to fall behind 40-30.
Zverev then tees in on Alcaraz’s lack of movement, sending a backhand behind the Spaniard to bring up a tiebreak.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 6-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) Alcaraz’s serve is all upper body and yet he takes the first point, whipping a forehand winner deep and wide. It’s then 30-0 when Zverev sends a return long.
Is Zverev in his head here? Playing to Alcaraz’s injury rather than just trying to play his game and move through the gears?
A static Alcaraz slices a forehand dropshot wide but a forehand powered away from Zverev on the next point moves him ahead 40-15. This is remarkable stuff.
And now a forehand winner! Consensus from the world feed callers is that Alcaraz is cramping like something else and yet, in a Grand Slam semifinal against the world number three, he’s still managed to hold serve twice.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 5-5 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) Zverev’s fatigue looks to have vanished, he’s more like a shark right now.
Oh wow. Alcaraz can hardly move as he gives up the first two points. And yet somehow he produces a forehand winner on the next point. And then forces an error on the next return. He’s a one-legged man in an arse-kicking contest and yet he’s hanging in there.
Nonetheless, a backhand return sails long and then a forehand goes into the net. Zverev gets the hold.
We’re on pickle juice watch. Trying to figure out if this was a cramp. At the moment, no sign of the drink on the screen, with the trainer just using the magic hands approach.
Alcaraz is back on his feet and Zverev will serve. No doubt he’ll be eager to test those legs of the Spaniard.
Now, I don’t speak German but I’m pretty sure Zverev is furious that Alcaraz has been granted a medical timeout for what he feels is cramp – which wouldn’t entitle the Spaniard to one.
Oh, ok, he said “bullshit,” I understand that word.
The name on everyone’s mind, of course, is going to be Lorenzo Musetti. The Italian was leading Novak Djokovic two sets to love in the quarterfinals only to be forced to retire hurt. Could lightning be about to strike twice.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 5-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) An overpowering serve-and-volley moves Alcaraz ahead but another drop shot on the next point doesn’t go to plan: Zverev meeting it and inducing the error.
And what’s this?!?!?! Alcaraz looks to be in a bit of discomfort. Cramp? A knee issue? Whatever it is, Zverev smells blood, demanding to the umpire that Alcaraz get back into position to serve. Boy oh boy, wowee.
Alacaraz is somehow able to take three of the next four points, manipulating Zverev around the court with drop shots and lobs, but whatever he’s done has taken plenty of the power and drive from his legs. He’s desperately trying to get to the chair without surrendering the break. He does with a hold. But now the real intrigue begins.
Carlos Alcaraz(1) 4-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) A huge hold now needed by Zverev, the German needing to avoid giving his opponent a chance to serve for the match. And things start well for him as he moves out to a quick 30-0 lead.
Alcaraz steers a backhand winner deep into the corner to get on the board but the Spaniard misjudges his attempted drop shot after a defensive lob in the next exchange, surrendering a point that Zverev looked gone in.
The top seed responds with another drop shot on the next exchanges, this one rattled into the net by the advancing Zverev, but the German puts his foot down and secures the hold with an ace.
Carlos Alcaraz*(1) 4-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) Alcaraz starts things with an ace – his ninth of the match – but Zverev gets to a backhand drop shot and whips a passing forehand beyond the Spaniard to level the game. He then moves ahead when Alcaraz sends a forehand volley into the net but the top seed responds with a second serve Zverev can’t return and another ace to move into position for a hold. That hold is then brought up when a 206 km/h serve is returned long by Zverev.
Carlos Alcaraz(1) 3-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) Zverev should have had that first point one, but after moving Alcaraz all over the court he commits a simple forehand error into the net to give up the point. He looks tired, hot and fed up.
Nonetheless, the German gets on the board with the next point and does a much better job at the net when he meets an attempted passing shot at the net with a backhand volley dragged well away from Alcaraz.
A drop shot from the Spaniard drags Zverev forward but he’s well-placed to meet it and set up another volleyed winner, followed by an ace for the hold.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 3-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) A big-time serve-and-forehand that gets sent down the line gets Alcaraz ahead, followed by an ace. A drop volley winner and another ace then brings up the hold to love.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 2-2 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) A booming forehand from Zverev gets him ahead and he backs that up with another forehand winner after getting forward to meet a backhand gently lofted back over the net. The forehand is really working for the German in this game and potentially his one of the game moves him into position for a hold to love – an opportunity taken when he sends a serve down the T Alcaraz can’t control.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 2-1 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) The fatigue and sweat increasingly evident on both players – just because we’re not baking through a 45 degree day doesn’t mean it’s not hot – as Alcaraz opens the game with an ace. That sets the scene for a commanding hold to love; another small blow landed against Zverev as he attempts to manufacture a miracle.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 1-1 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) Zverev gets the ball in his hands, looking to provide a tone setting first service of the third set and making a good start towards these efforts by firing a 204 km/h ace down the T.
A lengthy baseline exchange ends with Alcaraz dragging a forehand just wide and while an unforced error from Zverev gives the Spaniard a point, he moves back into the ascendency with a huge forehand winner.
A ridiculous exchange of volleys, drop shots, lions, tigers, and bears ands with Zverev putting the ball out. But it doesn’t come back to haunt the German, as an unforced error from Alcaraz on the next point gives up the hold.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 1-0 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) Can Zverev stage a miracle? Well, he secures the first two points of the third set, only for Alcaraz to take the next two. The German earns a break point but Alcaraz gets in his bag of tricks once again to erase it: dragging Zverev forward with a drop shot, sneaking in behind it, and then securing a winner via a simple backhand volley.
Alcaraz forces a backhand volley to take the advantage and then secures the hold with an ace.
Carlos Alcaraz takes the second set in a tiebreak.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) Getting the mini-break at the exact moment he needed one, Alcaraz takes the second set and, with it, puts one foot in a first-ever Australian Open final. It’s really hard to see Zverev coming back from two sets to love down.
The German steps up to serve first – the big server maybe at an advantage in the tiebreak? – and goes ahead when Alcaraz sends a backcourt backhand long. Alcaraz moves Zverev around on his first serve and then takes the next point with a backhand volley at the net and then holds serve when Zverev sends a return long.
Back-to-back errors from the Spaniard as he attempts to return sees Zverev hold serve, a feat which is matched by Alcaraz thanks to a backhand drop shot winner that leaves his opponent scrambling and a backhand cross-court winner after dragging Zverev forward.
A serve-and-volley combination by the German allows him to force an error and answer back, and he then moves ahead when a long rally is broken up by an Alcaraz backhand error.
Thus far, neither man has blinked while on serve in the tiebreak and the world number one continues that trend when he forces a forehand return error and, after seeing Zverev storming forward, cramp him enough to induce him to send a volleyed backhand wide.
Something has to give, surely! And yep, it does: Zverev desperately stretched as he’s moved around the backcourt and slice a forehand error off his racquet.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 6-6 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) Zverev takes as long as he’s able to on the change of ends – the type one diabetic needing to monitor his blood sugar levels – before the duo head back out there, over an hour now gone in this second set.
Looking to force a tiebreak, a big baseline backhand from Alcaraz secures the first point and a neat little serve-and-volley then grabs him the second. An unforced baseline error from Zverev puts the top seed into position for an easy hold to love and he takes it with a second serve ace. A tiebreak will be needed!
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 5-6 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) An eight shot rally breaks out on Zverev’s second serve, one ended when Alcaraz draws his opponent with a drop shot and then whips a passing forehand beyond him. Zverev responds with a 203 km/h serve down the T that Alcaraz can’t keep in, only for the Spaniard to prove able to get to a 209 km/h serve on the next point and start a rally that ends with Zverev sending a baseline forehand, with plenty of pace taken off it, into the net.
Two break points are then brought up when Alcaraz returns a 207 km/h serve and then constructs a point that allows him to get to the net and kiss a forehand winner away from the third seed.
Some patient but booming baseline work eventuates from Zverev as he looks to respond and, eventually, he’s rewarded when Alcaraz fires into the net. We’re then sent to deuce when, with both players showing signs of fatigue, the German fires an ace down the T.
Alcaraz sends a forehand return long to surrender the advantage but restores the game back to deuce with a passing backhand that Zverev has no chance of reaching. The German moves into the advantage again when he sends a serve wide and Alcaraz lifts his forehand return long and then sees off the breaks and secures the hold when he quickly responds to a drop shot attempt and blasts an overhead winner behind Alcaraz.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 5-5 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) After doing the hard work to get the break back, Alcaraz now steps up looking to keep this set going with a hold. And things start well in this quest as he takes the first points, inducing Zverev into a racquet change.
The new tools do the job on their first point, just keeping a looping forehand return in and giving Alcaraz the opportunity to commit an unforced forehand error to drop the point. Only they don’t go so well on the next one, Zverev slicing a backhand attempt just out.
The hold is subsequently locked up with an aggressive serve-and-forehand combination.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 4-5 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) Zverev steps up, looking to use that big ole’ serve of his to even things up at a set apiece. Nope.
The first point doesn’t go to plan, Zverev sending a backhand into the net, and neither does the second, the German lifting a baseline forehand long, long, long.
Zverev gets on the board when a well-placed backhand stretches Alcaraz and induces a forehand into the net but he can’t build on that: whiffing a forehand from the baseline into the net to give up two break points.
A big booming serve gets Alcaraz moving to his right in a hurry and unable to keep a return in. Alcaraz, though, steps up when the pressure is on, constructing a point that sees Zverev finally send a backhand into the net and surrender the break.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 3-5 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) A forced and an unforced error, the latter at the end of a 13-shot rally, move Alcaraz ahead as he looks to hold serve and keep the second set alive. But Zverev then gets on the board with an unforced baseline backhand error from the top seed.
A booming forehand return on second serve gets Alcaraz out of shape and he sends a backhand into the net but a long and high backhand return goes long – drawing a groan of frustration from Zverev – and puts the Spaniard in position to hold by moving Zverev left, getting to the net, and guiding a forehand winner right.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 2-5 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) New balls are delivered, just in time for the big serving German to blast down an ace. Both players send baseline shots long, moving Zverev ahead to 30-15 before it’s tied up when the third seed attempts a serve-and-volley but puts the latter shot out.
Some great movement from Zverev sees him get to the net and guide a forehand winner out of Alacaraz’s (lengthy) range and break is consolidated when the top seed sends a forehand return long.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 2-4 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) Zverev drives a forehand down the line and takes the opening point when Alcaraz can’t get his return back over the net. It’s then 0-30 when a backhand error from the baseline sees the top seed fall further behind. An opening?
It is an opening! Three break points are brought up by the German when Alcaraz’s circus shots are met by Zverev in kind and the Spaniard produces an error. The first of those are seen off when Zverev can’t return serve and the second when Alcaraz gets forward and sends down an overhead smash.
But on second serve, the break comes when Alcaraz opts to run around Zverev’s off-balance return and sends an unforced forehand error long.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 2-3 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) Wow! Alcaraz is here, there, and everywhere as Zverev moves him around the court, before finally being put away with a backhand sent behind him at the end of a 13-shot rally. A really good return levels things up but Zverev moves back ahead with a serve Alcaraz can’t return.
Alcaraz sends a baseline forehand return into the net to fall behind 40-15 and Zverev sees him off with an ace.
Carlos Alcaraz* (1) 2-2 6-4 Alexander Zverev (3) As we move past an hour played, some audacious tennis from both men get forward, before Alcaraz ultimately takes the point with a backhand winner. Oohs and ahhs from the crowd after that one.
A much more anticlimactic double fault – Alcaraz’s second of the match – levels things but an unreturnable serve then restores the advantage. A booming forehand winner puts the top seed into a position for a straightforward hold but he sends a backhand into the net on the next point.
But it’s a temporary setback, as Alcaraz demonstrates sublime control as he bends a forehand just over the net to cheekily claim the hold.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) 1-2 6-4 Alexander Zverev* (3) Zverev gets to the net and while Alcaraz keeps the point alive longer than he has any right to, he can’t chase down a backhand winner. An unreturnable serve moves the third seed further ahead but he’s pegged back to 30-15 when his attempt to dig out a baseline backhand lifts just long.
A big 199 km/h serve fools Alcaraz and he can’t make any kind of proper contact with his return and a much more straightforward hold is secured when a powerful serve sets the scene for a point in which he gets to the net and smashes down an overhead winner.
