A five-set battle that stretched for 5 hours and 27 minutes, the longest match of the tournament so far and the third-longest ever at Melbourne Park, was never going to be easy. Still, Carlos Alcaraz found a way through, edging Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 to book his place in the final, even while dealing with an ugly cramp in the third set.

Zverev, meanwhile, clearly wasn’t thrilled with how the night unfolded and was seen muttering something in German out of frustration as Alcaraz took an MTO.

Later, during his post-match press conference, Zverev was asked what he had said in that moment. He quickly shut the question down, saying, “I don’t remember, to be honest. It was 17 hours ago and I don’t quite remember.”

“I’m sure somebody has it on video, and you can check. But honestly, I don’t want to talk about this right now because I think this was one of the best battles there ever was in Australia, and it doesn’t deserve to be the topic now,” he then added. Frustrated? Absolutely, and after a match like that, it’s hard to blame him.

After taking the first two sets 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), Alcaraz suddenly looked uncomfortable early in the third. With the set locked at 4-4, he pulled up awkwardly on serve, and play was briefly stopped at 15-all as the world No. 1 appeared to be struggling with his upper right leg and groin.

That pause quickly shifted the spotlight to chair umpire Marijana Veljovic, much to Alexander Zverev’s frustration. The German was visibly upset that the countdown clock wasn’t started while Alcaraz was on serve, and he didn’t hold back. “It’s unbelievable that he gets treated for cramps, it’s BS,” Zverev said angrily.

“You are protecting these two guys all the time,” the 28-year-old added, pointing toward Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner as he vented his anger over the situation.

Players are generally not allowed to call a Medical Time Out for cramp, with quick fixes like pickle juice usually used instead. That’s why former American player Jim Courier also sympathized with Zverev on Nine’s broadcast, agreeing on air that a clear mistake had been made.

“This is such a travesty. They have totally botched this. That’s why Zverev is melting down right now,” the 55-year-old said.

Carlos Alcaraz’s opponent shares his biggest regret

After the grueling five-set battle, Alexander Zverev was asked if he had any regrets about the loss. He didn’t hesitate. “Yeah, the second set,” he said. “I felt like I should have won that one, especially since I was serving for it. I didn’t play a good game when I had that chance.”

On the other side of the net, Carlos Alcaraz was clearly struggling physically late in the match. He could barely run toward the end of the third set and for much of the fourth, but somehow found another gear in the fifth. Down 3-5 in the decider, he loosened up just in time to fight back and eventually prevail in the longest semifinal in Australian Open history.

“This was one of the most demanding matches I’ve ever played in my career so far,” the 22-year-old said afterward. “Physically, we pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the edge, and the level in the fifth set was really, really high.”

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Zverev, meanwhile, reflected on how things unfolded late. “Funny enough, I don’t have many regrets in the fifth set because I was hanging on for dear life,” he admitted. “I was exhausted. But yeah, the second set, being one set all, then him starting to cramp in the third, that probably would have made a difference.”

Even so, Zverev said he would leave Melbourne with his head held high, despite having served for the match in the fifth set. He reiterated that he didn’t like the decision that sparked controversy, but stressed that he didn’t want it to overshadow what was the longest Australian Open semifinal of all time.