There is hardly a more thankless task in tennis than playing against a physically weak opponent. It’s a bit like a team from the Bundesliga having to play against a fifth division club in the first round of the cup: actually you can only lose.
Three matches in one
Zverev lost 4:6, 6:7 (5:7), 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (7:4), 5:7 in a five-and-a-half-hour duel that was probably one of the most thrilling in the glorious history of the Grand Slam tournament. Because anyone who watched this semi-final could have felt at the end that they had seen three matches in one. Zverev played well in the first, but Alcaraz played much better. In the second, Zverev wrestled down the visibly impaired Alcaraz. In the third, a recovered Alcaraz gave it his all once again, but still almost lost before he managed the next unlikely comeback of the day.
“Physically, it was the most challenging match of my entire career. I’ve really never experienced anything like that,” said Alcaraz after the match. “A bitter end for me, but to be honest I had absolutely nothing left in the tank,” said Zverev shortly afterwards: “That’s life. I’m clearly too tired to be emotional. We’ve both reached our absolute limit.”
After this crazy match, the search for the reasons is arduous. Zverev’s serve wasn’t quite as good as in previous matches in Australia, and his forehand wasn’t quite as secure. Alcaraz, on the other hand, was noticeably trying to work through his own plan for the match as seriously as possible and appeared fitter and more light-footed at the start of the game. After three quarters of an hour he had won the first set without Zverev having a chance of a break.
If you think of a tennis match as a piece of wood to be worked on, you can find Zverev and Alcaraz at opposite ends of the scale of possible approaches. Zverev is the woodcutter who systematically chops the block short and small with an axe. Alcaraz is the artist who removes it piece by piece with a carving knife and file, creating impressive works of art.
Alcaraz initially managed this masterfully against Zverev
But while Zverev has been making a noticeable effort to at least bring more creativity into his work since this year at the latest, the opposite can be observed with Alcaraz. The Spaniard is clearly trying to control his sometimes excessive enthusiasm for the game. He initially managed this masterfully against Zverev.
In the second round, however, with the score at 3:2, Zverev still had the first break opportunities of the day. He took advantage of his third chance. The famous momentum that makes so many tennis matches sway back and forth seemed to be tipping over. But when Zverev was only one point short of equalizing the set, Alcaraz found a way back. In the tiebreak, he impressively scored three points in a row for Zverev when the score was 5:4. After 78 minutes, Alcaraz had also won this set.
In the third round it seemed almost only a matter of time before Alcaraz would end the match. But when the score was 4:4, he suddenly grabbed his thigh and then obviously had major physical problems. He only played stops, served without bending his knees, and barely ran anymore. Somehow he managed to win the next service game. He then took a medical break.
During this, Zverev became upset and loudly complained to the arbitration court that Alcaraz should not have taken it because of cramps. “You protect them both,” he complained loudly about the supposed preferential treatment for Sinner and Alcaraz. “That can’t be!”
Alcaraz now played with full risk. He kept the rallies as short as possible, hit with power, with finesse, and relied solely on his intuition. And because he is probably the most talented of all the tennis players on this planet, he still managed to win numerous rallies and even took the lead 6:5.
Zverev, on the other hand, almost despaired because he was in danger of losing a match that he actually had to win. Ultimately he prevailed in the tiebreak, but he also allowed Alcaraz to recover somewhat over time. Alcaraz had now drunk three bottles of the now famous pickle broth, which many tennis players drink to combat muscle cramps. It seemed to work.
Because even if he perhaps didn’t reach his best level in the last two sets, he was now again a big challenge for his opponent. At the end of the longest match he has played in his career, Zverev seemed increasingly at the end of his strength.
After a break in the first game of the fifth set, he still led for a long time; when the score was 5:4, he only had to hold his serve to reach his fourth Grand Slam final. Instead, Alcaraz suddenly played outstanding tennis again. With three game wins in a row, he put a worthy end to this impressive battle of attrition.
Related reading
