Carlos Alcaraz pulled off a miracle to reach his first Australian Open final. The World No.1 battled through a rollercoaster semifinal against Alexander Zverev. After cruising through the first two sets, his rhythm suddenly faltered as physical struggles crept in right on the edge of victory. But Alcaraz refused to fold. He somehow clawed his way back to win 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (3-7), 6-7 (4-7), 7-5 in a breathtaking five-set thriller.

“I didn’t think it was cramp at all in the beginning,” Alcaraz admitted to the press afterwards. “So I didn’t know what exactly it was. I just go around to a forehand, and I started to feel it just in the right abductor. So that’s why I just called the physio, because it was just that moment. The rest of the legs, the left leg, was good. I mean, not good, but decent.”

The momentum swing clearly rattled Zverev. He failed to break and grew visibly furious when Alcaraz was allowed a medical timeout since cramps are usually treated only during changeovers. Even while struggling to move, Alcaraz fought like a warrior. He came within two points of closing it out at 6-5 before Sascha dug deep, forcing a tiebreak and edging it through sheer grit.

“After that, with all the stress that they didn’t know what’s going on, didn’t know if it’s going to be worse or not, it came everything after all. But in that moment, I just talked to the physio. I said, ‘okay, I just want to run to the forehand side, and I started to feel the right abductor,’ and he decided to take the medical time-out, and he did it.” He added.

The 22-year-old’s movement suffered midway through the third set, which he eventually lost in a tiebreak. But his ball-striking stayed razor-sharp. He leaned on crisp placement and fearless shot-making, punching through the pain to keep finding winners. Somehow, Alcaraz turned the match into a nailbiter that lasted a five-hour, 27-minute epic of endurance and will.

Did Carlos Alcaraz consider pulling out of the match at any point? The Spaniard looked close to it for fans and his opponent during his medical timeouts. He reportedly was heard telling his team that he threw up while sitting at his bench. The struggle was visible and the tension was in the air. But Carlos’ isn’t one to back down.

“I hate giving up,” he declared. “I just don’t want to feel that way. There are some moments that it seems like, ‘OK, I’m giving up’ or ‘I’m not fighting at all’ which when I was young there were a lot of matches that I didn’t want to fight anymore.”

On the other side, his opponent wasn’t too pleased with how things turned out. When Carlos took his MTO, Zverev was frustrated over the pause in the match and he didn’t hold back from expressing his mind.

World No.3 speaks out on Carlos Alcaraz needing a time out for his cramps

As the Spaniard’s physio rushed to check his leg mid-match, Zverev’s patience started wearing thin. The German was fuming as he waited, clearly unhappy with the timing of Alcaraz’s medical break. He didn’t hold back his feelings either, letting everyone know exactly what he thought.

“This is f**ing bullsht,” Zverev could be heard saying. “It’s unbelievable that he gets treated for cramps, it’s bullsh*t. You’re protecting these two guys (Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner) all the time.”

Emotions were running high, but once the match was over, Sascha cooled down and gave a more measured take in his press conference.

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“Yes, well, he had cramps, and normally you can’t ask for a medical timeout for cramps. It’s not my decision. I didn’t like it, but it’s not up to me. I just said it was crap. But honestly, I don’t want to talk about it right now, because I believe this was one of the greatest battles ever in Australia. That shouldn’t be the topic right now.”

And he was right. Their epic semifinal, clocking in at 5 hours and 27 minutes, officially became the longest in Australian Open history. It may not have ended the way the German hoped, but both men created something unforgettable, and Alcaraz kept his dream of a career Grand Slam alive.

Next up, the world No. 1 faces Novak Djokovic in a blockbuster final. It’s Carlos Alcaraz chasing his Career Slam, Djokovic chasing his 25th Grand Slam milestone. Who takes the crown this time?