At first, it seemed like another normal, straight-set victory at the Australian Open for Carlos Alcaraz, but it didn’t go as planned. He faced cramps and even took a medical timeout, and then Alexander Zverev gave the Spaniard a match to remember. The dramatic five-hour battle at the Rod Laver Arena saw the world no. 1 head to the finals with a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(2), 6-7(4), 7-5 victory. And it was his belief that told him to never give up.

“Believing, believing all the time,” Alcaraz said during the post-match on-court interview, “I think I always say that you have to believe in yourself no matter what, no matter what you’re struggling, you’ve been through, no matter anything, you still gotta believe in yourself all the time. I was struggling in the middle of the third set, you know, physically it was one of the most demanding, you know, matches that I have ever played in my short career, I would say.”

The first two sets were more than fine for the Spaniard. However, worries started to grow in the third set, when the play froze, and Alcaraz took a medical break. And his opponent? Quite furious about it. “It’s unbelievable that he can get treated for cramps. This is bulls***” Zverev said, yelling at chair umpire Marijana Veljovic.

While Alcaraz recovered and the match resumed, it was the moment when the German took over the court. Zverev won the next two sets, and the game went to an ultimate set that would decide the future. And this is where the Spaniard’s combo of experience and mentality kicked in.

“But I’ve been in these kind of situations, I’ve been in these kind of matches before, so I knew what I had to do, I had to put my heart, you know, into the match,” he said. “I think I did it, I fought until the last ball, I knew that I was going to have my chances. I was passionate, you know, in the fifth set, but, you know, just extremely proud about myself, the way that I fought and the way that I came back, you know, in the fifth set.”

During the post-match press conference, he opened up on his recovery window, saying, “Well, I just obviously I feel tired, you know, obviously my body could be could be better, to be honest. But I think that’s normal after five hours and a half. So I just did whatever, whatever it takes just to try to be better or to feel better tomorrow. I have bath, you know, contract.”

He added, “I’m going to, you know, have treatment with the physio, you know, at night. So we will see. Hopefully it’s not going to be nothing at all. So, you know, I think the muscles are going to be tight, and I just got to be whatever it takes to be, you know, as good as I can for the final.”

The world no. 1 proved why he is one of the best tennis players out there. It was his resilience that made him fight through all odds, and despite the injury scare, in the final set, he defeated Zverev to secure his place at the Australian Open final and pursue his goal for a potential seventh career Grand Slam. However, for that goal, he will be facing either of these two tennis stars.

The path is still challenging for Carlos Alcaraz

The Australian Open has yet to see the semifinal match between Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic. So, one of them will be Carlos Alcaraz’s final obstacle towards his seventh Grand Slam on the Aussie hard court.

Comparing Sinner and Alcaraz, the Spaniard has a 10-6 lead in their head-to-head rivalry. However, neither of them has ever battled each other at the Australian Open. The Italian is looking strong following his straight-set victory (6-3, 6-4, 6-4) against Ben Shelton in the quarterfinal, and he will be awaiting a challenge from the 38-year-old Serbian.

For Djokovic, he was the one to send Alcaraz back home at the 2025 Australian Open in a four-set battle, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4. So, if he does come as the final challenger for the Spaniard, the 22-year-old will have a nice chance for redemption. But no matter who challenges the world no. 1, the Australian Open final will be a delight for the tennis fans!