Carlos Alcaraz has reached Australian Open final for the first time after an epic showdown with Alexander Zverev that lasted for 5 hours, 27 minutes, the longest semi-final in the Australian Open history. Alcaraz took the initiative winning the first two sets, but Zverev rallied to win the other two, all of them in tie-breaks.
And then, when Zverev was only one game away for the victory, Alcaraz converted two break points in a row and won the final set, dropping to the ground after the incredible 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5 match.
"Physically it was one of the most demanding matches that I have played in my short career", he said, explaining that he never thought about retiring from the match, even when things seemed to be against him. "I always say you have to believe in yourself, no matter if you are struggling or what you have been through. No matter about anything, you still have to believe in yourself all the time.
"I have been in these kinds of situations and I knew what I had to do. I had to put my heart into the match. I think I did it and I fought until the last ball. I knew I was going to have my chances. I am extremely proud of myself with the way that I fought and came back in the fifth set", the World No. 1 said, who thanks to this victory will climb even higher in the ATP ranking, as he had been eliminated by Djokovic in the quarter-finals last year by Djokovic.
Alcaraz: a near-perfect record in five-set matches
An incredible stat is that Alcaraz has won 15 of all 16 five-set matches he has played (including the memorable Roland Garros final with Sinner last year). That's 12 five-set games victories in a row, his only defeat in a five-set match was against Matteo Berrettini in the third round of the 2022 Australian Open, when he was 18 years old.
If Alcaraz wins in the final next Sunday, he will be the youngest player ever to complete the Career Gran Slam. He is already the youngest ever to reach all Grand Slam finals (he already has six titles, two each in US Open, Wimbledon and Roland Garros).