Zverev questions Alcaraz’s medical timeout after five-set loss at Australian Open
MELBOURNE, Australia — Alexander Zverev angrily vented his frustration on the court when Carlos Alcaraz was given a medical timeout in the third set of the Australian Open semifinals, but he didn’t change his mind after losing an epic five-set match that lasted nearly 5 1/2 hours.
Zverev was the first to speak at Friday’s post-match press conference in the semifinals, more or less repeating what he told tournament directors on court: He believed Alcaraz was cramping and that it was not the reason for the medical timeout.
“Normally you can’t take a medical timeout for cramps,” he said after the longest ever semi-final at the Australian Open. “What can I do? It’s not my decision. I don’t like it, but it’s not my decision.”
About two hours later, Alcaraz arrived for his official press conference and said he needed to be evaluated because the pain was very localized. This is within the rules.
The 22-year-old Spaniard said he had experienced cramps before but this time it felt different because it “only happened to one specific muscle, so I didn’t think it was cramping at all at first.”
The weather wasn’t particularly hot by Melbourne standards, with temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) at the start of the afternoon session, but Alcaraz began to struggle around 2 hours and 40 minutes into the match, with temperatures dropping to around 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit).
“So I didn’t know exactly what it was because I just turned to my forehand, and then I started feeling it in my right adductor muscle,” he said. “That’s why I just called the physio, because that was the moment.”
He said his left leg was in good condition at the time.
It all started in the ninth game of the third set — two sets Alcaraz had played — when he began limping and appeared to be battling an issue with his upper right leg.
He took a medical timeout in transition after leading 5-4. He rubbed the inner part of his right thigh and called his trainer, who also massaged the same area.
“I don’t know what happened, I don’t know if it could have gotten worse, but it happened anyway,” Alcaraz said. “At that moment, I just spoke to the physical therapist … and he decided to take a medical timeout.”
Although Alcaraz’s footwork was limited, he was able to hit the winning shot to bring the score to 6-5 before the coach massaged the area again during a line change.
When he returned, the crowd gave him a roar of support. Zverev opened the next game with a double fault, Alcaraz lobbed, and then hit a forehand winner to bring the score to 0-30, just two points away from victory. But Zverev scored four points in a row to force the tiebreaker into a decider.
Third-seeded Zverev said that while he won the next two sets, he missed the opportunity to win faster and conserve energy for the fifth set.
“Incredible fight, fight. It ended unfortunately for me, but there’s absolutely nothing left of me, to be honest,” he said. “Normally, I can rely more on my serve. My legs aren’t pushing up anymore, so yeah, that’s it. That’s life. We move on.”
The timing of the rules intervention has sparked widespread public debate since two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner started the event’s extreme heat policy after suffering cramps in the third round. After a break with the roof closed, Sinner came back with more energy and rallied to take the win.
There’s also been a lot of speculation online about a medical pause. But Zverev decided it was time to let go.
“To be honest, I don’t want to talk about it right now because I think it’s one of the best fights Australia has ever had,” he said. “It doesn’t deserve to be a topic right now.”
