Carlos Alcaraz is into his first-ever Australian Open final, coming through a marathon match to win 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5.
However, at one point, he seemed poised to cruise through the semi-finals with ease, racing into a two-sets-to-love lead over Alexander Zverev.
The German was not going to go down without a fight though, and took full advantage of a cramping Carlos Alcaraz to claw two sets back of his own.
And, when he took an early break in the fifth, the writing seemed on the wall.
Were the Australian Open too lenient with Carlos Alcaraz?
To discount the superstar Spaniard has regularly proven to be a foolish enterprise though, and he broke back at the last possible opportunity, then held his own serve, and broke again to win the match.
Despite the drama and intrigue of this encounter, there was some controversy involving Alcaraz’s behaviour and how he gained passage into the final.
Carlos Alcaraz’s behaviour vs Alexander Zverev questioned
After all, the rules state that players are not allowed to take medical time-outs for cramps; only for genuine injuries.
However, Alcaraz was afforded one, having clearly told the umpire he was suffering from an alternative issue that earned him a break.
Speaking on TNT Sports after the match, Tim Henman had one theory: “ I think it was about two and a half hours into a match. Obviously a Grand Slam semifinal. If that is a best-of-three set match in a Masters 1000, there is no way Alcaraz is cramping.
“Therefore, in my mind, it has to be stress-related, and I think the irony is that he did so well not to get stressed after that to stay calm and relaxed and wait for his body to recover.
“Then once he calls to the umpire, he is not going to say, yeah, I’m cramping in my leg. I’m sure he is going to be saying I have had a twinge in my right adductor. I’m not sure what is going on. Can you work on it?”
However, it was CoCo Vandweghe who really analysed the controversy: “I think Zverev has every right to complain and go to the supervisor and say what Carlos is being treated for isn’t the real reason he is being treated.
“But in all fairness, I will say this openly, we are playing for the final of a Grand Slam. You are going to pull out every trick in the book to make it to the next round. Even if Carlos gets a fine or a talking to, I will take that to be in the final of a Grand Slam.
“Zverev is packing up to go home. Carlos used the rules to his advantage and is in the final.
“He was able to manipulate the situation to his advantage, and I think it’s all fair play. I can’t really fault him in that regard.”
Carlos Alcaraz reaches his first-ever Australian Open final
Whilst he will still want to claim the title, Alcaraz can still take so much credit just from reaching the final, and thus having made it to that stage of all four majors.
He has finally broken through and is just one win away from his ultimate goal.
Has Alexander Zverev just blown his last chance to win a Grand Slam?
Alcaraz has spoken about the career Grand Slam at length before and during the tournament, and is now just one win away from being the youngest player in history to achieve it.
He will now have to start his recovery immediately, but will watch Jannik Sinner’s Australian Open semi-final against Novak Djokovic with particular interest to see who will stand in his way.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
