Zverev battles through the pain barrier to stun Alcaraz, set to renew rivalry with Medvedev in semis
MELBOURNE: Alexander Zverev likes jewellery, he wears heavy gold chains. His hair is pulled back in a man bun and the only colour on his gear was lime green. For nearly three sets of this Australian Open quarterfinal clash, the 26-year-old served rockets, for the rest he showed resolve. Unbendable steel.
Zverev, the sixth seed, equalled his best performance at Melbourne Park in the early hours of Thursday, by making another semifinal here, four years after his last appearance, with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4 win over the second-seeded Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev led by two sets and was 5-2 in the third when his nerve shook and Alcaraz burst through. The celebration in the near full house was short-lived though.
"When you're 6-1, 6-3, 5-2, you start thinking," said Zverev, who claimed his first top-five scalp in a major. "But I'm playing one of the best players in the world. He's won two Grand Slams. We're all human. It's a great honour to play guys like him. I'm really pleased by the way I fought back in the fourth set. I stayed mentally strong."
Zverev, who had the trainer on court after the third set, admitted to playing with some pain. "I have quite a lot of blood under my toenails. Every time I play it comes out. But I would rather be in a bit of pain and in the semifinals of the Australian Open than be at home."
Zverev won 88 and 84 percent of points on his first and second serves in the first two sets.
On a day when temperatures dropped dramatically in the evening after going up to 33 degrees in the afternoon, the German thrived. Zverev was hitting the ball flat, hardly giving it air, forcing his 20-year-old opponent to commit. The sixth seed broke twice in each set in the first two sets.
Zverev will play the third-seeded Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals on Friday.
The Russian finished on top in a roller coaster contest against the ninth-seeded Pole Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.
Zverev and Medvedev, bitter rivals, will play for the 19th time on Friday. Last year they met six times with Medvedev winning on five occasions.
"He's been kicking my a#@s in recent matches," the German said. "I'm hoping that this will be where it changes. I hope I can get some crowd support for the match with Medvedev."
QUARTERFINALS
Men: 3-Daniil Medvedev (RUS) bt 9-Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4; 6-Alexander Zverev (GER) bt 2-Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4.
Women: Dayana Yastremska (UKR) bt Linda Noskova (CZE) 6-3, 6-4; 12-Zheng Qinwen (CHN) bt Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-1).
