Australian Open: Zverev knocks out Alcaraz in superb late-night thriller
The German recorded his fist win over a top five opponent in a Grand Slam as Alcaraz’s brave fightback was halted in the fourth set
Alexander Zverev competes at 2024 Australian Open Icon SMI / Panoramic
Alexander Zverev stunned Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open, beating the Spaniard 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4 in a thrilling match at Melbourne Park.
Zverev’s win marks the first time that he has beaten a top five player at a Grand Slam, ending Alcaraz’s bid for a third major title and a first in Melbourne.
The German has also extended his head-to-head record against the Wimbledon champion to five wins and three losses, with two of those wins coming in Grand Slams.
zverev dominates first two sets before alcaraz comes alive
There was something of a shell-shocked silence inside Rod Laver Arena during the opening exchanges as Zverev blew Alcaraz away to take the first set 6-1 in just 29 minutes.
The Spaniard looked bemused as he found himself at a loss with how to deal with Zverev’s huge groundstrokes off both wings.
The German broke twice en route to taking the set in a blistering display of power and precision to which Alcaraz simply had no answer.
But the Alcaraz that the late-night Melbourne crowd had come to see showed up in the second set. The panache was back, as was the devastating power and jaw-dropping athleticism, as the Spaniard seemed to have roused himself out of his initial shock at the level of tennis coming at him from across the net.
Despite the Spaniard’s revival in that second set, however, he could not make two break points count on Zverev’s serve. It was Zverev again who struck the first decisive blow, breaking in the seventh game to put Alcaraz firmly against the ropes.
Zverev then broke for a fourth time in the match with Alcaraz serving at 5-3 down, taking the set and seizing total control of the encounter as the hushed murmur of a stunned Melbourne crowd rippled around Rod Laver Arena.
With his back against the wall, the uncharacteristic forehand errors began leaking from Alcaraz’s racquet once again as he quickly fell a break down in the third.
The result looked inevitable as Zverev stepped to the baseline at 5-3 up to serve for the match. But the indomitable Alcaraz played fearless tennis to break the German, sealing the game with a sublime deft volley, and transform what had been a one-sided contest into a pulsating encounter.
The third went to a tiebreak and, after falling 2-0 down, Alcaraz put on the most superb exhibition of returning and shot-making to win the next seven points in a row and clinch the third set from the brink of defeat.
alcaraz sucker-punched in the fourth after epic comeback was well in sight
The start of the fourth saw the pair exchange breaks before some steady serving from each took things to 4-4.
With the momentum behind him and Zverev seemingly troubled by some physical niggles, the expectation was that the fourth set was Alcaraz’s to lose.
But the match was sadly denied the deciding set that it so clearly deserved, as it came to an unexpectedly abrupt finish.
It was lost in the ninth game of the fourth set, when a loose game by Alcaraz from completely out of the blue handed Zverev a timely break of serve.
From there, the German served out a truly momentous win to reach the second Australian Open semi-final of his career, where he will face a familiar foe in third seed Daniil Medvedev.
“I’m playing one of the best players in the world especially over the last two years,” Zverev said after the match.
“He’s been No 1 and No 2 in the world and won two Grand Slams. When you’re up 6-1 6-3 5-2, you start thinking. I mean we’re all human.
“It’s a huge honour to play against guys like him and then when you’re so close to winning, obviously your brain starts going and it’s not always helpful but I’m happy that I got it in the end.
“I fought back quite well in the fourth set, didn’t let go and very happy to finish the match.”
It was another thrilling late night on Rod Laver Arena at this year’s Australian Open. It is difficult to escape the feeling, however, that it finished in something of an anti-climax.
Alcaraz was sucker-punched right at the end after having worked his way back into the contest so brilliantly, with all the momentum behind him. Yet there was to be no miracle comeback for the Melbourne crowd to savour.
Nevertheless, it was another wonderful match to add to the list at this year’s opening major, and Zverev deserves every plaudit for excellently securing one of the best wins of his impressive career.
Melbourne (Grand Slam), other quarter-finals results (Melbourne Park, hard, USD 58.910.000, most recent results first):
- Daniil Medvedev beat Hubert Hurkacz (9): 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
- Jannik Sinner (4) beat Andrey Rublev (5): 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3
- Novak Djokovic (1) beat Taylor Fritz (12): 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
