Another victory for the legend, the second of his career. Just as the echoes of his comeback in last year's Roland Garros final still resonate, this time Carlos Alcaraz outdid himself. In the Australian Open semifinals, against Alexander Zverev, he won in pain, cramped, limping by 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), and 7-5 in a five-hour and 30-minute feat that will be remembered for centuries. There will be no greater proof of his greatness. There will be no greater proof of his dominance. How to deny him invincibility if even so, burdened by his own body, he managed to qualify for another Grand Slam final.
"We have cramps even in the pinky toe, even in the last hair on the head," confessed Alcaraz to his coach, Samu López, at the beginning of the fourth set, and then it was impossible to imagine him celebrating in front of a Rod Laver Arena surrendered to him two hours later. At 22 years old, his talent and mentality have reached such a level that they do not rely on his physical condition. From the abyss of defeat, he stepped back with his soul, and on Sunday he will seek the title in the only Grand Slam missing from his collection against Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic.
The drama unfolded in the middle of the third set. With two sets on his side, Alcaraz was approaching a fleeting victory, but his body began to complain. The day was hot in Melbourne, around 30 degrees Celsius, the sun covered the entire Rod Laver Arena, and the effort took its toll. During a break, the number one did something strange with a towel. "What's wrong with him?" his team members wondered. And quickly Alcaraz explained: "I vomited, I don't know if I need to take something." From then on, the match turned into a survival exercise, despite the controversy.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) regulations prevent a player from being treated by a physiotherapist if they suffer cramps, but Alcaraz claimed a muscle strain in his right thigh and received the corresponding massage. His opponent, Zverev, went crazy: "It's an absolute disgrace. They are treating him for cramps. You always protect these two [referring to Alcaraz and Sinner]. It's unbelievable, I can't believe it." To pressure the chair umpire, Serbian Marijana Veljovic, the German went to the court waiting for the game to resume, but it had no effect. Alcaraz still received the masseur's help, and both faced a different match.
How could the Spaniard endure? With medication - he took a pill, with apple cider vinegar, and with patience. "Little by little. Breathe well. You will feel better. We already have two sets," López assured him, and Alcaraz listened. He stopped running, even stopped jumping on his serve, but he stayed in the match. With his range of shots, he endured, and only in the fifth set did he not give his opponent a 'break,' only succumbing in the tie-breaks of the third and fourth sets.