Carlos Alcaraz defeated Alexander Zverev in a historic five-set match on Friday, January 30, on the Rod Laver Arena. The match saw both players struggling due to the intense physicality of the match, which lasted around five hours and 27 minutes.
The World No. 3 came agonizingly close to reaching his second consecutive Australian Open final, and was engaged in a heated argument with the supervisor due to a medical timeout taken by the Spaniard. In his press conference, Alcaraz opened up and revealed the real reason behind taking the MTO.
Carlos Alcaraz Talks About His Medical Timeout Which Infuriated Alexander Zverev
Alcaraz defeated Zverev 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5 in the 2026 Australian Open semifinal to reach his first Championship match in Melbourne. The Spaniard broke Zverev late in the first set to gain a 1-0 lead in the match before the German led the second set.
However, Alcaraz forced a tiebreak and took it after winning three consecutive points in the end, taking a 2-0 lead. Both players performed equally well in the third set, but Alcaraz started struggling in his right leg due to the physical nature of the match.
After leading 5-4, Alcaraz took a medical timeout during the changeover, which angered Zverev. He thought the Spaniard was cramping and took an MTO because of that, which should not be allowed by the tournament. Zverev even exchanged heated words with the supervisor in German, reportedly stating that the organizers favor them, targeting the two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner and the World No. 1.
During his post-match press conference, when a reporter informed Alcaraz about this incident, he got honest and explained the reasoning behind it. He said,
“I didn’t think it was cramps at all at the beginning. I didn’t know exactly what it was. I ran to a forehand and started to feel it in the right abductor.”
After not feeling well, Alcaraz called the physio to take a look at his right leg, but even he wasn’t sure what was wrong at that time. “That’s why I called the physio. Because it was just that moment, the left leg was good, I mean, not good but decent. After that, with all the stress, I didn’t know what was going on. I didn’t know if it was going to be worse or not.”
He then revealed the real reason behind taking the medical timeout, stating, “In that moment, I just talked to the physio and said, ‘Okay, I just went to run to the forehand side, and I started to feel the right adductor.’ He decided to take the medical time out, and he did it. I just told what happened to the physio and he decided to take a medical.”
According to the rules of the International Tennis Federation, a player may not receive a medical timeout for muscle cramping and can only receive treatments for the same during changeover and/or set breaks. Now, as the physio himself decided to take the MTO, it was totally valid; however, it still led to a moment that made headlines in the tennis world.
Alcaraz Pursues Maiden Australian Open Title on Sunday
This marks Alcaraz’s deepest run at Melbourne Park, having previously reached the quarterfinals twice in 2024 and 2025, losing to Zverev and Novak Djokovic, respectively. He is now the youngest man to have reached the finals of all Grand Slams, eyeing his first Australian Open title, which would be his seventh major title.
If the Spaniard manages to lift the trophy on Sunday, he will become the youngest man in the Open Era to complete a Career Grand Slam.
This gruelling encounter between Alcaraz and Zverev is now the third-longest match in the history of the Australian Open, standing right behind the 2012 final between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray’s second-round match against Thanasi Kokkinakis in 2023. It also became the longest match of this year’s Australian Open, overtaking the Swiss legend Stan Wawrinka’s second-round match against Arthur Gea.
Alcaraz will now face Djokovic in the final at Rod Laver Arena. The Serb enters the match with just 30% chances of lifting another trophy in Australia.
