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Zverev knocks out Alcaraz to set up Australian Open semi-final vs Medvedev
The sixth-seeded German beat Spain's Alcaraz 6-1, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in a match that was unexpectedly one-sided for the large part at the Rod Laver Arena.
World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz was blown away by Alexander Zverev in the quarter-final of the men's singles in the Australian Open 2024. The sixth-seeded German beat Alcaraz 6-1, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4 in what was an unexpectedly one-sided match for the large part at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.
With this win, Zverev set up a mouth-watering semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, who came through a gruelling five-setter in sweaty conditions against Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 earlier in the afternoon.
With an astonishingly high percentage (85%) of first-serve landings, Zverev didn't allow the Spaniard any chance whatsoever to have an upper hand in the contest at any point of the match. 78% of those first serves resulted in points for the German.
It was only in the third set that Alcaraz showed some fight and broke the sixth seed's serve when the match was on the line to stretch the set into a tie-breaker and win it 7-2.
Alcaraz won Wimbledon last year and was the only player to beat 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam match in 2023. The 20-year-old Spaniard won’t get the chance in Australia this time.
It was Zverev’s first win over a top-5 player at a Grand Slam, and the reward was a spot in the semis for the seventh time at a major.
Zverev was on top of Alcaraz early, getting 16 of his 18 first serves into play in the first set and winning the point on all but two of them.
He got three set points when Alcaraz netted an attempted backhand drop shot and closed it out with an ace after 29 minutes.
In the second set, Alcaraz had break points in the sixth game but couldn’t convert and Zverev took it away from him with two service breaks to lead 2-0.
The German was serving for the match at 5-3 in the third, just after midnight, when Alcaraz broke for the first time. Alcaraz got back to 5-5 when he chased a shot into the doubles alley and knocked a backhand down the line, beaming a big smile and shaking his racket in a gesture that suggested: “Hello, still here.”
He won the last seven points of the tiebreaker to make it 2-1, flashing a big smile after earning four set points when he chased a ball wide and hit a forehand passing shot.
After an exchange of service breaks to open the fourth, Zverev got another chance to close out the match after breaking in the ninth game.
After clinching the win, the Olympic gold medalist let out of a scream of relief and shook his arms in celebration at about 1:20 a.m. local time.
