Jan. 24 (UPI) — Alexander Zverev held a two-set lead on Carlos Alcaraz before allowing the Spaniard to rally on Day 11 of the 2024 Australian Open. He then calmed his nerves and eliminated the No. 2 seed, clinching a semifinal ticket.
“When you are up, you start thinking,” Zverev said on the ESPN broadcast, which ended Thursday morning in Australia, but aired Wednesday in the United States due to the 16-hour time difference.
“We are all human. It’s a great honor to play against guys like him.”
The German totaled seven aces, 28 winners and converted 7 of 10 break points in the 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 victory at Rod Laver Arena. Alcaraz totaled six aces, 39 winners and converted 2 of 5 break points. He also committed 45 unforced errors, compared to Zverev’s 25, in the 3-hour, 25-minute quarterfinal.
Zverev raced out to a 3-0 lead to open the match, breaking Alcaraz’s first serve. He broke Alcaraz again in the sixth game and held in the seventh to win the first set.
Each player held serve through the first six games of the second. Zverev then won the final three games of the set, breaking Alcaraz twice, for a 2-0 lead.
Alcaraz and Zverev held again to start the third set. Zverev then broke Alcaraz in the third game and held twice to take a 5-2 lead, as he readied to serve for match point. Alcaraz held in the eighth game to make the score 5-3.
He then broke Zverev in the the ninth game and held to tie the match 5-5. He went on to win the set in a tiebreak, appearing to snatch movement.
But Zverev rallied to break Alcaraz in the first game of the fourth and final set. Alcaraz responded by breaking Zverev’s next serve. They each held their next two serves to tie the set 4-4 tie entering the ninth game.
Zverev then broke Alcaraz for a 5-4 edge and claimed match point when the Spaniard hit his final return past the baseline.
The No. 6 seed will now face another tough test in the next round, when he meets No. 3 Daniil Medvedev of Russia in the semifinals.
“He’s been kicking my [expletive] a lot over the last year or so, but maybe this will be it,” Zverev said of his chances to beat Medvedev and advance to the final.
On Wednesday, Medvedev outlasted No. 9 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in a five-set match, which lasted nearly four hours. Medvedev totaled 11 aces, 43 winners and converted 4 of 9 break points in the 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 victory. He committed 42 unforced errors, compared to his foe’s 55.
The winner of the Alcaraz-Medvedev match will meet No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia or No. 4 Jannik Sinner of Italy in the men’s singles final.
On the women’s side, No. 12 Zheng Qinwen of China ousted Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in straight sets to reach the semifinals on Day 11 of the Grand Slam.
Zheng edged Kalinskaya 10-2 in aces, 42-18 in winners and 6-2 in break points converted in that 2-hour, 20-minute match. She won 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-1.
Zheng will face Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska in the semifinals. Yastremska advanced with a 6-3, 6-4 straight-sets victory over Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic.
The winner of the Zheng-Yastremska match will face No. 4 Coco Gauff of the United States or No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in the women’s singles final.
Gauff and Sabalenka will meet in the first women’s semifinal Thursday in Melbourne. That match will air at 3:30 a.m. EST on ESPN. The first men’s semifinal will air at 10:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN.
