Alcaraz slugs out win over Zverev in over five-hour semifinal - ESPN

MELBOURNE, Australia — Carlos Alcaraz overcame possible cramps and injury to fend off Alexander Zverev in an epic, momentum-swinging five-setter Friday, becoming the youngest man in the Open era to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam events.

At 22, he's aiming to be the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam.

He reached his first Australian Open final the hard way, winning 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in 5 hours, 27 minutes. It was the longest match of the tournament so far, and the third-longest match held at Melbourne Park.

That's despite being two points away in the third set from a semifinal victory in a tournament where he hadn't dropped a set through five rounds.

After a medical timeout for treatment on his upper right leg and massages on the same area at two changeovers, Alcaraz's footwork wasn't up to his usual standard for the rest of the match.

He was behind in the fifth set after dropping the first game but kept up the pressure and didn't break back until Zverev was serving for the match in the 10th.

The top-ranked Alcaraz will next face either two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner or 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic, who is bidding for an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles crown. The marathon afternoon match delayed the start of the night semifinal.

Asked how he was able to recover despite being so close to defeat, Alcaraz just said he kept «believing, believing, all the time.»

«I was struggling in the middle of the third set. You know, physically it was one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played,» he said. «But I've been in these situations, I've been in these kind of matches before, so I knew what I had to do.

»I had to put my heart into the match. I think