No escape from Alcaraz: A 22-year-old’s legend grows in five-set Rod Laver Arena classic

Carlos Alcaraz has added another brilliant – and heroic – chapter to his burgeoning legend status as he reached the Australian Open final for the first time.

The Spanish world No.1 looked headed for a comfortable victory when he rallied from 5-2 down in the second set to go two sets up on German star Alexander Zverev, before a sudden case of cramping late in the third set seemed likely to cost him his career Grand Slam bid.

But after almost five-and-a-half hours, Alcaraz surged back from 3-5 in the fifth set to stun an “exhausted” Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, and become the youngest man ever to reach the final at all four majors.

Asked why he was able to forge on when others may have wilted, Alcaraz said he hated giving up and had learned to physically suffer, knowing that “one second more of fighting is always worth it”.

“Believing. Believing all the time,” Alcaraz said of how he escaped.

“I always said that you have to believe in yourself, no matter the struggles you go through. You have to believe in yourself. I was struggling in the middle of the third set. Physically, it was one of the most demanding matches I’ve played in my short career.

“But I’ve been in these kinds of situations, these kinds of matches before. I had to put my heart into the match. I fought until the last ball. I always believe that I can come back in every situation.”

Alcaraz began cramping in his upper right leg with the finish line in sight in the ninth game of the third set, in what proved a match-altering twist.

His decision to call for the trainer and undergo a medical timeout enraged Zverev, who called the situation “bullshit” in an angry conversation with the supervisor in his native language.

The world No.3 continued his profanity-laced diatribe while speaking to his courtside team as Alcaraz received treatment and drank pickle juice in a desperate bid to keep alive his chances of making a maiden Australian Open final.

The 2026 grand slam rulebook states that a player “may receive treatment for muscle cramping only during the time allotted for change of ends and/or set breaks” and cannot receive a medical timeout for that reason.

However, there is a grey area because the rule continues: “In cases where there is doubt about whether the player suffers from an acute [or] non-acute medical condition inclusive of muscle cramping ... the decision of the sports physiotherapist, in conjunction with the tournament doctor, if appropriate, is final.”

Alcaraz provided clarity on the situation afterwards, saying he was unsure initially whether it was cramping or an injury to his adductor.

“It was a really demanding match, but obviously when I just felt cramps before ... in the beginning, it was on one specific muscle, so I didn’t think was cramp at all,” he said.

“I didn’t know exactly what it was because I just go around to a forehand, and then I started to feel it just in the right adductor, so that’s why I called the physio. At that moment, the rest of the legs, the left leg was good. I mean, not good, but decent.

“I talked to the physio … [and] he decided to take the medical timeout.”

Alcaraz has still never lost with a two-sets-to-love advantage, and improved his overall five-set record to 15-1.

He awaits the winner of the second semi-final between two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner and 10-time winner Novak Djokovic, but will spend the next 48 hours trying to physically recover. Sinner and Alcaraz have contested the past three major finals and shared the last eight slam titles.

Alcaraz, who turns 23 in May, will now try to beat Rafael Nadal’s record as the youngest man to ever complete the career Grand Slam. Nadal was 24 years, three months and 10 days old when he won the 2010 US Open.

“I’m really happy to play my first final in Melbourne. It’s something I was pursuing a lot,” Alcaraz said.

“It’s been a great two weeks so far. My level is improving a lot. I couldn’t stay here right now, doing this interview [as the winner] without you guys. It was a real pleasure playing in front of all of you. The way you pushed me through every time, every ball was amazing.

“My head is about recovering, so I’m in good shape for you guys. See you on Sunday.”

Zverev was as upbeat as possible in the circumstances, revealing he had “absolutely nothing left” in the dying stages of the match. But he remained adamant that Alcaraz should not have been able to take a medical timeout for his muscle cramping.

“Normally, you can’t take a medical timeout for cramping [but] what can I do? It’s not my decision. I didn’t like it, but it’s not my decision,” Zverev said.

“I don’t quite remember [what I said to the supervisor], but I’m sure somebody has it on video. To be honest, I don’t want to talk about this right now because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia. It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.

“I think we both went to our absolute limits, so somewhat I’m also proud of myself the way I was hanging on and came back from two-sets-to-love [down], but of course, it’s disappointing.”

This was the first five-setter on Rod Laver Arena for this year’s tournament and eclipsed retirement-bound Swiss great Stan Wawrinka’s four-and-a-half-hour second-round win over Arthur Gea for the longest match of the fortnight.

Alcaraz continued to fight despite being physically compromised with his movement, including his first-serve speed taking a significant hit as his legs betrayed him.

He infamously suffered from severe full-body cramping, which primarily impacted his right leg, in his 2023 Roland-Garros semi-final defeat to Djokovic, which he later blamed on stress. On that occasion, there was no coming back, but the story was different in Melbourne on Friday night.

Alcaraz’s hopes looked over when he double-faulted to drop serve to begin the final set, with all the momentum going Zverev’s way, but as his movement started slowly improving, he suddenly began creating opportunities on the German’s serve.

Zverev served for the match at 5-4 in the final set, but immediately stumbled to 0-30, only adding to the surging tension, and soon after, he was facing double break point following another ballistic Alcaraz forehand winner (one of his 78 for the match).

The nerve-riddled German missed his first serve then also faltered on his ball toss, but toughest of all was dealing with a deep Alcaraz return before he eventually floated a backhand long to lock the set at five-all.

By then, Alcaraz was an irrepressible force.

Zverev had a game point on his next service game to send the contest to a deciding match tiebreaker, but Alcaraz continued to heap the pressure on. The collapse continued, and Alcaraz needed just one match point, ripping a forehand down the line that Zverev could not retrieve to seal his fate and end an extraordinary semi-final.

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