‘I didn’t know what’s going on’: Alcaraz lifts lid on time-out drama as injury drama comes full circle

About an hour after Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Alexander Zverev in an Australian Open epic on Friday, the Spanish sensation was being whizzed across Melbourne Park in a golf buggy.

The destination, presumably, was to see a medical professional of some sort. A heart specialist should have been on call given the thriller he had just clinched, and that is just for the fans fortunate to witness a classic semi-final.

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Instead it was aimed at ensuring he is physically ready to compete for history in Sunday night’s final as he bids to become the youngest man to complete the career grand slam.

His opponent is Novak Djokovic.

It took something extraordinary to overshadow a high-class clash between the King of Melbourne Park, Djokovic, and the man who has won the last two Aussie Opens in Jannik Sinner, but Alcaraz did so with his escape.

The demands on Alcaraz did not end after he collapsed on to Rod Laver Arena at the end of the 5hr 27min triumph over Zverev, a rip snorter clinched by the Spaniard 6-4 7-6 (5) 6-7 (3) 6-7 (4) 7-5.

After climbing off the canvas, both in the semi-final and then after his celebration, he embraced the vanquished German who must surely now wonder if he will deliver on what once seemed his destiny, namely to become a grand slam champion.

Alcaraz seemed emotionally spent as he tried to explain to former champion Jim Courier what had just unfolded, the herbs and spices and every other special ingredient that separate the legends from the rest.

Midway through the magnificent outing he required medical intervention after cramping severely, an incident that infuriated his rival, though later Alcaraz explained he was initially afraid he had strained a muscle.

In the locker rooms he jumped on the bike to complete his warm-down after leaving the court. No doubt every muscle was aching, but he was full of smiles when Djokovic offered congratulations in a classy move.

His first media obligations were completed with Eurosport Spain, where he delivered a magnificent summation of the fine line between his glory and Zverev’s devastation.

“The truth is, as I always say, tennis is a sport that is defined by details and it can be very cruel or wonderful. One point can change everything,” he said.

“We know this, and we have been focused on continuing to compete, knowing that the physical condition has a big influence. The match was about fighting, believing, and taking advantage of opportunities without fear.

“I had physical problems that hurt me but in the end, we saw an even more incredible and tough match for both of us. I am very happy, and I think I was able to show a great level today.”

Alcaraz is a dual-Wimbledon, Roland Garros and US Open champion. Last year he defeated Sinner in one of the greatest grand slam finals played at Roland Garros.

A couple of years earlier he edged the almighty Djokovic in a magnificent Wimbledon final after being thrashed in the first set.

He will break Don Budge’s pre-World War II record if he wins a maiden Australian Open title on Sunday and he has already accomplished more than most of the greats.

But at the age of 22, he is also still in the infancy of his career and still showing the world new things, as he demonstrated in the tenacity he fought with and the inner-depths he reached on Friday to get over the line after trailing 5-3 in the fifth.

“As I said on court, this one was one of the more demanding matches that I have ever played in my career so far,” he said.

“I think physically we just pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the limit and I think the level of the fifth set was really, really high. So I am just really, really happy to get the win, that I came back. I just rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won.”

Back in Paris in 2023, Alcaraz cramped so badly against Djokovic in a semi-final had to concede a game while struggling to walk and was pummelled in the final two sets. Tension and nerves were to blame on that occasion.

Having overcome a 5-2 deficit in the second set – it is this lapse that Zverev later identified as critical to the result given it gave Alcaraz wriggle room later in the match – he felt an unusual sensation in his right adductor in the third set.

There is a furore over whether he should have been allowed a medical time out. He later said that given the sensation, the medical official assessing him deemed it within the rules.

“It was really demanding, the match, but obviously … in the beginning when it was on a specific … muscle, I didn’t think it was cramp at all at the beginning,” Alcaraz said.

“I didn’t know exactly what it was, because I just go around to a forehand and then I started to feel it just in the right adductor, so that’s why I just called the physio, because it was just that moment, the rest of the legs, the left leg was good. I mean, not good, but decent.

“After that, with all the stress that I didn’t know what’s going on, I didn’t know if it’s going to be worse or not, it (be)came everything after all. But … in that moment I just talked to the physio, I said, ‘Okay, I just went to run to the forehand side, and I started to feel like the right adductor.’ He decided to take the medical time-out, and he did it.

“Then I just took, I think, the three minutes on just the changeover, and that’s it. You know, once again, I just told what happens to the physio, and he decides to take the medical.”

Zverev was irate on the court but more magnanimous afterwards, saying that while he did not like it and believed the medical time-out should not have been granted, it was not his call.

“I just said it was bullshit, basically, because … I don’t remember,” he said.

“To be honest, it was 17 hours ago (smiling), and I don’t quite remember, but I’m sure somebody has it on video and you can check.

“But, to be honest, I don’t want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia. It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.”

Zverev is right, at least in regards to the time out. And it was a great battle, though Melbourne Park has witnessed several top line epics since opening in 1988. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Zverev had only just shaken hands.

The medical time-out is a side story in what proved to be a broader sensation as Alcaraz demonstrated he now had the resilience to overcome a significant physical hurdle to win.

Since that painful lesson at Roland Garros, he has added another five grand slam titles to his name and played some of the most scintillating tennis the sport has seen.

The will to win comes from belief, desire and a pathological hatred of losing. That is another of those special ingredients that separate the greats from the rest of the pack.

“I just hate giving up. Just how I could feel after all (that), I just don’t want to feel that way,” he said.

“There are some moments that it seems like, ‘Okay, I am just giving up or just I’m not fighting at all’. When I was younger, there were a lot of matches that I just didn’t want to fight anymore or just I gave up. Then I just got mature, and I just hated that feeling after all.

“Thinking about, ‘Okay, I could do it or I could do a little bit more or I could suffer a little bit more’, that feeling, that thoughts just kills myself.

“Every step more, every … second more of suffering, one second more of fighting, is always worth it. So that’s why I just fight until the last ball and always believe that I can come back in every situation.”

Zverev arrived for his post match press conference almost 2 ½ hours after a match that lasted nearly 5 ½, hours and he was not yet heading for bed despite the clock approaching 11pm.

At that stage the double-defending champion Sinner and the 10-time Australian Open champion Djokovic were sitting at a set apiece in their high-class semi-final with another almighty battle unfolding.

Sleep is for the dead and, anyway, the 22-year-old said that with the adrenaline still pumping through his body, it would be a long time before he was able to doze off.

“Obviously I feel tired. Obviously my body could be better, to be honest, but I think that’s normal after five hours and a half,” he said.

“So I just did whatever it takes just to try to be better, to feel better tomorrow. I’m going to have treatment with the physio now, and we will see.

“Hopefully it’s not going to be nothing at all, but after five-hours-and-a-half match and that high level of physically, I think the muscles are going to be tight, and I have just got to do whatever it takes to be as good as I can for the final.

“Right now, yes, I said I will try to do whatever it takes just to be ready. But obviously it’s going to take a couple of hours, for sure, with treatment, and obviously with the adrenaline and everything from the match, sometimes it’s really difficult to get to sleep.”

Zverev, meanwhile, leaves another grand slam tournament without a title next to his name.

But the three-time major finalist was not as desolate in defeat as he was after a straight sets loss to Sinner in last year’s decider, though he conceded that might be because reality was yet set in.

“To be honest, I think I’m way too tired to have emotions right now, so like in two days’ time, I’ll probably have more, but right now I’m just exhausted,” he said.

“I think we both went to our absolute limits, so somewhat I’m also proud of myself for the way I was hanging on and came back from two sets to love (down).

“Of course it’s disappointing, but this is the start of the year, so if I continue playing that way, if I continue training the way I train, if I continue working on the things that I’ve been working in the off-season, I do believe it’s going to be a good year for me.”