Carlos Alcaraz is out at the Australian Open after a four-set defeat to Alexander Zverev at the quarter-final stage.
Zverev, the tall and powerful German, took advantage of a rare off-night for Alcaraz, the 20-year-old wonderkid, who lost in four sets in a match that appeared for most of the first 90 minutes to be one of the worst Grand Slam beatings of the Spaniard’s career.
Alcaraz committed errors from start to finish before finding his rhythm briefly, playing an immaculate tiebreaker at the end of the third set, but it was not enough. The final score was 6-1, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.
For Zverev, the win was his biggest triumph since he suffered a brutal ankle injury in the French open semi-final against Rafael Nadal in 2022. He missed the rest of the season and spent most of last year rebuilding his strength and rediscovering the form that brought him to the precipice of the U.S. Open title in 2020.
But Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon champion, has quickly become one of the biggest stars of the sport, the youngest ever world No 1 when he reached the pinnacle of the sport in 2022. For the last three years, he has been touted as the heir apparent to the ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and has largely lived up to those expectations when his injury-prone frame allowed it.
“It has been a good tournament for me, making quarter-finals, playing good tennis,” Alcaraz said. “I’m sad with my level today, because I have been playing good tennis, the round before this one with a lot of confidence. Serving pretty well. But in general I leave the tournament happy.
“Forgetting about today’s level. Obviously quarter-final of a grand slam is good. It’s not what I’m looking for, but it’s not bad. It’s a shame that I started the match like the way that I did and ending the way that I did. But it’s tennis.”
Alcaraz’s frustration began to boil early in the first set. His repeated misses had him yelling at himself and his coaching box as he searched for answers that he never found. His usually lethal drop shot was nearly non-existent.
Zverev’s wobble began late in the third set when he served for the match at 5-3. His first serve suddenly became unreliable and his forehand slowed considerably — two telltale signs of nerves.
Alcaraz broke him for the first time all night then evened the set a game later with a slick drop volley. He waved his racket to the crowd, asking for the kind of reinforcement that has come so naturally during his brief career, which already includes two Grand Slam titles
But Zverev steadied himself for a final push and the decisive break came in the ninth game of the fourth, before he served out to earn a first top-five win at a slam at the 11th attempt.
“When you’re up 6-1, 6-3, 5-2, you start thinking,” Zverev said. “It’s not always helpful but I’m happy I got there in the end. I fought back quite well in the fourth set.”
The victory is the next step in Zverev’s unlikely and, for the tournament, awkward journey to the semi-finals.
He is set to face trial in May on a domestic abuse charge, a subject the sport doesn’t want to talk about.
GO DEEPER
Alexander Zverev keeps winning. But nobody wants to talk about his domestic abuse trial
(Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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