Alexander Zverev was inches away from reaching the final at this year’s Australian Open.
The German, still without a Grand Slam title to his name at 28 years of age, faced eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final four at Melbourne Park.
After conceding the first two sets in the match, Zverev forced a fifth set against Alcaraz and broke the Spaniard in the decider before earning the chance to serve for the match.
Has Alexander Zverev just blown his last chance to win a Grand Slam?
He ultimately could not get over the line, however, with the now-seven-time major champion, who had suffered from cramp at the end of the third set, coming out on top to advance to the final.
Zverev faced plenty of criticism from fans for his failure to win the match despite Alcaraz’s physical difficulties, but Naomi Osaka’s former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, thinks the narrative surrounding him is a harsh one.
Patrick Mouratoglou discusses criticism of Alexander Zverev
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “I’ve seen so many comments during this Australian Open that made zero sense to me, that I really want to give you a wider view about it.
“You really think that Zverev is not good enough to beat Alcaraz, who’s cramping? It’s a misunderstanding of the game of tennis.
“You are two sets down, you don’t want to miss because you expect the guy to miss. You want to put the ball away, but you don’t want to miss so badly that you start to slow down.
“And of course, the guy who has cramps, you know, he cannot move anyway. He goes for his shots and he doesn’t miss one shot and he hits only winners, and he puts even more pressure on you.
Will Carlos Alcaraz win the Calendar Slam in 2026?
If not, which Grand Slam is he going to fail to win?
“And in tennis history, so many champions have played terrible matches because the opponent was suffering from that.
“And then in the fifth set, Alcaraz was completely physically back. So if you guys don’t see all that, and just think that Zverev is s—— because he couldn’t beat Alcaraz, who had cramps, I think it’s a short view, and I think you have to open your mind and try to understand tennis a little bit better.”
Alexander Zverev’s campaign at the Australian Open
Zverev dropped three sets in his first three rounds at the Australian Open, taking hits from Gabriel Diallo, Alexandre Muller and Cam Norrie.
In round four, though, he finally earned a straight-sets victory, beating Francisco Cerundolo, who had troubled him at tour-level events in the past.
Then, Zverev was pitted against an in-form Learner Tien, who had just dominated former world number one Daniil Medvedev to book his place in the quarterfinals.
But Tien could not find a way past Zverev, with the Olympic gold medalist triumphing over the American 6-3, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6.
Despite going within a game of making the final, Zverev was knocked out in the semifinals by Alcaraz, enduring yet another near miss at a Grand Slam.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
