Carlos Alcaraz came through an absolute classic against Alexander Zverev to secure his place in the Australian Open final.
In a topsy-turvy battle, Alcaraz responded from letting slip a two-set lead to win a decider and dump Zverev out of the Australian Open.
The match had everything, including animosity between Alcaraz and Zverev, as two of the top three players in the world battled it out for over five hours.
Mere minutes after coming off the court, Alcaraz shared a social media message following his epic battle with Zverev.
Carlos Alcaraz sends ‘respect’ to Alexander Zverev after five-hour epic
Alcaraz and Zverev have been great rivals over the years, and their head-to-head record is closer than you might think.
Their Australian Open semi-final was their 13th battle of their career, which has seen the Spaniard narrowly top the rivalry with seven victories.
After his latest win, Alcaraz immediately sent props to the man who took him to the limit in Melbourne.
Do you think Alexander Zverev has what it takes to win a Grand Slam?
On Instagram, the Spaniard wrote: “That was a huge, crazy battle, and incredibly demanding; so many ups and downs!
“It was one of the toughest matches of my career! Happy to keep believing and to get to the final! Respect to Alexander Zverev for the match, it was a pleasure to share this with you.”
Alcaraz’s appearance in the Australian Open final will be his first, and he will become the youngest player to achieve the Career Grand Slam with a victory.
Where Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev ranks in the longest matches at the Australian Open
Alcaraz and Zverev battled for five hours and 27 minutes on the Rod Laver Arena, but it is only the third-longest match at the Grand Slam.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal’s epic final from 2012 tops the list, which clocked in at five hours and 53 minutes.
Rate Carlos Alcaraz’s chances of winning the Australian Open out of 10
Andy Murray’s stunning comeback against Thanasi Kokkinakis also narrowly piped Alcaraz and Zverev with their five hour and 45-minute epic.
Zverev and Alcaraz’s clash tops Nadal’s 2022 match with Daniil Medvedev and Iva Karlovic’s match against Horacio Zeballos from 2017.
Alcaraz and Zverev’s match was the first five-set match at this year’s Australian Open since Stan Wawrinka’s victory against Arthur Gea in the third round.
