Australian Open: Carlos Alcaraz 1 win from career Grand Slam after marathon win over Alexander Zverev

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from tennis immortality. Hopefully, it won't be more difficult than the grueling five-and-a-half-hour match it took to get there.

With a 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev on Friday, the world No. 1 advanced to his first career Australian Open final. If he wins on Sunday, he will complete the career Grand Slam at only 22 years and 272 days old, the youngest player to ever accomplish the feat.

His countryman Rafael Nadal is the current youngest to complete the career slam at 24 years and 101 days.

At one point, the match looked lost, with Alcaraz physically struggling with apparent cramps, having blown a two-set lead and down a break in the fifth set. He still found the gear he needed, at the expense of another Grand Slam disappointment for Zverev.

Alcaraz will learn his opponent in the final later Friday, as No. 2 Jannik Sinner and No. 4 Novak Djokovic square off in the other semifinal. Both present intriguing possibilities, with Sinner meaning yet another showdown in tennis' premier rivalry and Djokovic playing for his own unprecedented history, a drought-breaking 25th career Grand Slam won at the expense of the two young players who have usurped his thrown.

The first semifinal match didn't even see Alcaraz at his sharpest, as the oppressive heat in Melbourne was wearing down both players early. It didn't get any better as the match stretched into its fourth hour, then its fifth. Then its sixth

The first set saw Zverev hand Alcaraz an easy break with a pair of double faults and an unforced error. The German had hope in the second set when a break put him up 5-2, but Alcaraz roared back with his own break then won the tiebreaker to take full control of the match. It was in that tiebreaker when Alcaraz's more daring side came out, such as when he won back-to-back points with his trademark drop shot.

The young Spaniard was 59-0 in Grand Slams after taking a two-set lead, and Zverev didn't have the form to make history. The drama arrived in the third set, when Alcaraz appeared to tweak something. Zverev clearly believed it was just cramping and profanely objected when Alcaraz received time to get his thigh treated (supporting evidence: Alcaraz could be seen motioning for something to drink at the end of the second set).

Whatever it was, Zverev went on to win the third set via tiebreak. The fourth set also went to a tiebreak, with a clearly limited Alcaraz committing regular unforced errors and Zverev becoming far more consistent with his serve.

The fifth set seemed like it would be far more when one-sided after Zverev immediately broke Alcaraz. However, Alcaraz stayed in the match, playing through the discomfort and avoiding a double break, then breaking Zverev back when all the German needed to win the match was to hold serve. One more hold of serve followed, then another break, and Alcaraz had one of the most incredible wins of his career.

Alcaraz already has two French Open titles, two Wimbledon titles and two US Open titles at an age where even the elite professionals feel fortunate if they've a single Grand Slam. In the case of the Australian Open, he had never advanced past the quarterfinal before 2026 due to some top opponents (Zverev in 2024, Djokovic in 2025), but he's looked different this year.

And now he's three sets away from something that would put him ahead of all the sport's immortals.