Alcaraz beats Zverev: into Aussie Open final, nears Career Slam | OneFootball

Carlos Alcaraz, world number one, put his signature on the best match of the 2026 Australian Open and advanced to his eighth Grand Slam final. He overcame Alexander Zverev (3rd) after five and a half hours of formidable tennis. The German served for the match after coming back from 0-2 in sets, but the Spaniard took the battle 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), and 7-5.

After an even start, with both players winning their service games with relative ease, the Iberian began to put pressure on his rival's service games and was rewarded. After starting to win more points on the return, Carlitos benefited from two double faults by Sascha at a key moment in the match, which allowed him the first break and then to finish the job and close out the first set.

Despite this situation, the world No. 3 came out determined to fight back and had a golden opportunity, which he failed to capitalize on. A slump from Alcaraz allowed the German to take a 5-2 lead and then serve at 5-4 to level the match in sets, but he couldn't convert, and the Spaniard, with pure grit and striking at just the right moments, came back in a set he had almost lost.

The end of the set seemed like it could give a strong emotional boost to the youngest No. 1 in history, but that was far from the case. Parity took over, and Samu López's pupil began to have problems with his right leg; little by little, his mobility decreased and made it easier for Zverev to close the gap, who, after a moment of fury and arguments over medical assistance for his rival, put his name on the third set.

The cramps gradually faded for the Spaniard, who began to look better as the fourth set went on and reached the tiebreak in the best possible way. At that moment, however, it was the German who stood out and, with a cool head, forced a fifth set.

The statistics say that the Murcian never loses when he starts a match 2-0 in sets, and he didn't fail. The 24-time ATP champion dodged defeat with a huge heart and ended up signing one of the best matches of his career, extending that record to 58-0.

Chasing from behind throughout the final set, after dropping his serve at the start, the silver medalist from the 2024 Paris Olympic Games fought tenaciously and finally recovered the deficit just as Zverev was serving for the match at 5-4, then strung together two more games to finish the story.

In this way, "believing all the time," as he stated courtside, he reached his eighth Major final at age 22, matching what Rafael Nadal and Bjorn Borg achieved, and will play his first Australian Open final with the dream of completing the Career Grand Slam still intact.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.