Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach the finals of all four Grand Slams and could now become the youngest player to win all four Grand Slams.
Carlos Alcaraz overcame cramps and injuries to surge past Alexander Zverev in an epic five-set match to become the youngest player in the Open era to reach the finals of all four major tournaments.
The 22-year-old is aiming to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.
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He won 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 on Friday in five hours and 27 minutes to reach his first Australian Open final on a tough road.
She didn’t drop a set through all five rounds of the tournament, even though she was just two points away from winning the semifinals in the third set.
He fell behind in the fifth set, losing the first game, and was unable to break back until Zverev was serving for the match in the 10th set.
Alcaraz will next face either two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner or 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who is aiming for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title. The start of that night’s semi-final was delayed due to the length of the afternoon match.
Alcaraz, the top-ranked player, led by two sets and appeared to be in the same form that helped him win last year’s U.S. Open and match Sinner in the past eight majors.
However, in the ninth game of Game 3, he began limping and appeared to be suffering from problems in his right upper leg. After holding the score at 5-4, he took a medical timeout during the changeover. It might have been a cramp, but I rubbed the inside of my right thigh and called for a trainer, who also massaged the same area.
Zverev was visibly upset as he spoke to tournament officials when his rival was given a three-minute break for treatment.
Despite having limited footwork, Alcaraz was able to hit a winner and reached 6-5 by the time the trainer returned for a changeover and massaged the area again.
As he stepped outside, the crowd cheered wildly for him. Zverev started the next game with a double-fault serve, and Alcaraz hit a lob followed by a forehand winner down the line to make it 0-30. However, Zverev scored four consecutive points to force a tiebreaker and win.
Third place Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, remained calm despite Alcaraz’s obvious discomfort on the other side of the net. The Rod Laver Arena crowd was firmly behind the Spaniard.
He led throughout the fourth set, but Alcaraz was on his side until Zverev regained control in the tiebreak. More than four hours had passed by the time the match moved into the fifth set, the first five sets of the 2026 tournament to be played on Center Court.
Alcaraz dropped his serve in the first game of the fifth set, but hung with Zverev and had five break point chances but couldn’t convert.
The drama came in the sixth game, when Alcaraz ran across the court for a drop shot and slid at full speed for an angled forehand winner. The crowd went wild.
Alcaraz finally got a break when Zverev was serving for the match at 5-4 in the fifth set.
He held at 6-5 and converted his first match point on Zverev’s service time to stay in the match.
