Carlos Alcaraz is stunned by Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open in 2024.
Carlos Alcaraz’s attempt to win a third grand slam title was dashed on Wednesday at the Australian Open when the Spaniard lost to Alex Zverev in a thrilling four-set match.
After three hours and five minutes of incredible tennis, Zverev finally overcame his opponent, winning 6-1 6-3 6-7(2-7) 6-4 to advance to his second Australian Open quarterfinal.
Even though Alcaraz cut the deficit in half, it would still be extremely difficult to overcome a player who has only ever lost when up 2-0 in sets: Dominic Thiem in the 2020 US Open final.
As expected, Zverev broke Alcaraz in the third set while the world No. 2 was serving at 4–4. He did this with remarkable grace, putting the disappointment of the previous set behind him. He would not let another chance to serve win the match slip by.
In his post-match interview, Zverev stated, “I am facing one of the top players in the world, especially over the last two years, he is been No. 1 and No. 2 regularly.” “I mean, we are all human, and when you are up 6-1 6-3 5-2, you start thinking [about winning]. He is won two grand slams.
Playing against players like him is an incredible honor. Of course, when you are so close to victory, your mind begins racing, which is not always a good thing, but I am glad I made it through in the end. In the fourth set, I felt like I fought back very well, did not give up, and was glad to finish the match.
But Zverev’s striking display, especially the ridiculous level he performed at in the first two sets, will undoubtedly have worried Djokovic.
Of course, it is a completely different story to be able to hold that form for at least three sets with perhaps the greatest player of all time standing on the other side of the court.
Before Zverev can consider facing Djokovic, he must first overcome Daniil Medvedev, a player with whom he has battled recently, in the semifinals.
Although Medvedev has a career head-to-head record of 11-7 over Zverev, he has won nine of their past 11 matches, with his most recent triumph occurring in the ATP Finals in November.
The world No. 3 seed from Russia had to overcome his own epic to advance to the semifinals, defeating Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in a thrilling five-set, four-hour match.
