Carlos Alcaraz is out of the Australian Open after losing in four sets to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals.
Zverev, the tall and powerful German, took advantage of a rare off-night for Alcaraz, the 20-year-old prodigy who lost in four sets in a match that for much of the first 90 minutes appeared to be one of the worst Grand Slams. Achievements in the Spaniard's career.
Alcaraz made mistakes from start to finish before briefly finding his rhythm and playing a flawless tiebreak at the end of the third set, but it wasn't enough. The final score was 6-1, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.
For Zverev, the victory was his biggest triumph since he suffered a serious ankle injury in the French Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal in 2022, which brought him to the brink of the US Open title in 2020.
But Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon champion, has quickly become one of the sport's biggest stars, the youngest world No. 1 when he reached the sport's pinnacle in 2022. Over the past 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 physique has allowed it.
“It was a good tournament for me, I reached the quarterfinals and played good tennis,” said Alcaraz. “I'm sad about my level today because I played good tennis with a lot of self-confidence in the previous round. Served pretty well. But overall I leave the tournament satisfied.
“Forgetting today’s level. Obviously the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam are good. It's not what I'm looking for, but it's not bad. It's a shame I started the game the way I did and ended the game the way I did. But it’s tennis.”
Zverev celebrates his victory (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Alcaraz's frustration began to boil early in the first set. His repeated failures left him screaming at himself and his coaching box as he searched for answers he never found. His normally deadly drop shot was almost non-existent.
Zverev's wobbles began late in the third set when he served to make it 5-3. His first serve suddenly became unreliable and his forehand slowed significantly – two telltale signs of nervousness.
Alcaraz broke it for the first time that night and leveled the set a game later with a clever drop volley. He waved his racket at the audience and asked for the kind of reinforcement that has come so naturally in his short career, which has already included two Grand Slam titles
But Zverev fought for a final push and the decisive break came in the ninth game of the fourth round before securing a first top-five win at a Slam in the 11th attempt.
The victory is the next step in Zverev's unlikely and tournament-difficult path to the semi-finals.
He is scheduled to go on trial in May for domestic violence, a topic the sport doesn't want to talk about.
GO DEEPER
Alexander Zverev continues to win. But no one wants to talk about his domestic violence trial
(Julian Finney/Getty Images)