EBN- Germany’s Alexander Zverev stunned second seed Carlos Alcaraz to reach the Australian Open semi-finals as a sublime display of serving took him to a 6-1 6-3 6-7(2) 6-4 victory on Wednesday. In these first few years of his young career, Carlos Alcaraz has relished making the impossible seem routine.
He has performed at such a high level so consistently, learned from his mistakes at warp speed, and even when he has struggled, so often he has found solutions.
For once, he could not find a way. Despite a spirited comeback at the death, a pitiful start from the second seed left him with far too much to do against a stellar Alexander Zverev who maintained a high level across four sets, producing one of his best grand slam performances to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4 and reach the semi-final of the Australian Open.
As a result, Zverev, the sixth seed, and the third seed Daniil Medvedev will duel for a spot in Sunday’s final. Earlier in the day, Medvedev maintained his composure in the uncomfortable Melbourne heat, holding on against a resurgent Hubert Hurkacz as he returned to the semi-finals in Melbourne with a 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 win.
While Alcaraz entered Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night heavily favoured to crush his lower-ranked opponent, their history underlined the potential danger ahead. Zverev held a narrow 4-3 record against Alcaraz. Most notably, the German played one of the best matches of his career to defeat Alcaraz at the 2022 French Open.
Zverev was in a similar mood to 2022, swinging freely against an opponent heavily favoured to beat him. Alcaraz, meanwhile, was shaky from the beginning, immediately handing over the first break with a disastrous, error-strewn opening service game.
