Heading for defeat in Australia, Alexander Zverev was handed a lifeline…
His opponent, Carlos Alcaraz, leading by two sets to love, began to cramp up at the end of the third set.
At the end of the game, Alcaraz headed to the bench and received medical attention.
Were the Australian Open too lenient with Carlos Alcaraz?
Zverev was incensed by the decision to allow the Spaniard treatment, as players are not allowed a medical timeout for cramp.
The world number three complained to the umpire, but his complaints fell on deaf ears, as Alcaraz was allowed to recover.
During commentary for TNT Sports, Andy Murray’s former coach, Miles Maclagan, shared his thoughts on the Australian Open’s controversial decision.
Miles Maclagan says the rules on cramps and medical time-outs are ‘very grey’
“The rules become very grey,” he said.
“You are not allowed a medical time-out for cramp.
“That’s a loss of conditions, but the difference between cramp and an injury becomes very blurry.
“It’s being treated as a bit of an injury, a tweak in the right thigh, and from [Alexander] Zverev’s point of view, he’s treating it completely as cramp.
“He wants to press the pace right now.”
Maclagan understood why Zverev was so angry, highlighting the German’s physical prowess.
“You can understand his argument,” he said.
“And there are people who will be thinking if there is some sort of medical time-out, there should be some sort of penalty for it because Zverev’s fitness has been unquestionable for all his career.
“And that is one of his major strengths, which has been somewhat negated by his opponent being able to get a time-out.”
Maclagan was keen to point out the grey area in the rules, but Jim Courier, on Channel 9, believed the decision was a ‘travesty’ and claimed the officials ‘botched this’.
Alcaraz’s medical time-out will undoubtedly be discussed for quite some time, but what exactly does the rule say?
2026 Grand Slam rulebook – Medical time out/cramps
“Muscle Cramping: A player may receive treatment for muscle cramping only during the time allotted for change of ends and/or set break,” states the ITF 2026 Grand Slam rulebook.
“Players may not receive a Medical Time-Out for muscle cramping.”
Looking at the rule in writing, it’s not hard to understand why Zverev was so annoyed.
Alexander Zverev recovers to stay alive vs Carlos Alcaraz
The 28-year-old quickly recovered after the Australian Open officials made the highly questionable decision.
Zverev had a job to do, or he was going to lose in straight sets.
Who is going to win the men’s Australian Open title?
Pushing Alcaraz to a tiebreaker, the German found another gear, winning the set 7-6 [7-3] to keep his title dreams alive.
The match still hangs in the balance, though, and Zverev needs to win two more sets without reply to advance to his second consecutive Australian Open final.
Should he do so, he’d meet Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic on Sunday, February 1.
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