Alexander Zverev is an outstanding tennis player, there is no doubt about that. Olympic gold, two-time ATP Finals triumph and 24-time tournament winner – achievements that most professionals can only dream of. And yet the career of the German, who is one of the best of the best despite having diabetes, has a flaw: he is missing a Grand Slam title. The Hamburg native has come very close three times, but left the field as a loser in the finals in Melbourne (2025), Paris (2024) and New York (2020).
Zverev shares a fate that has already befallen many greats in the tennis scene: They played in an era in which Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic left no room for other names in the list of major winners. Zverev missed one of the very few chances: in 2020, when he was unable to take a 2-0 set lead against Dominic Thiem in the US Open final. Doubly bitter for the 28-year-old: Although the time of the big three is over, a new generation with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is now proving to be virtually invincible.
Zverev would of course like to refute this theory. The 1.98 meter giant has the chance to do this on Friday (4.30 a.m., ServusTV & Eurosport live) in the first of the two semi-finals of the Australian Open, when he challenges the world number one Alcaraz. A possible victory for Zverev doesn’t seem entirely out of the blue – in the “head to head” he still has a 6:6 record against Carlitos. Including the quarter-final success in Melbourne in 2024. And yet: Alcaraz has now gotten used to the conditions down under and is in the last four for the first time – and without losing a set!
Focused and snappy: Carlos Alcaraz
© AFP/William West
It’s clear – the Spaniard is on a mission and doesn’t want to let Zverev stop him. The 22-year-old could become the youngest player in tennis history to secure the career Grand Slam in Melbourne. What is particularly impressive is the fact that Alcaraz handled the separation from long-term coach Juan Carlos Ferrero without any problems. On the contrary, the six-time Grand Slam winner proved at the “Happy Slam” that he can master the ups and downs of a major even without the help of his mentor. “My team or my coach can tell you all kinds of things, but if you don’t feel comfortable, you have to do something else,” he said at a press conference.
The tennis ace from El Palmar attributes the impressive march in Melbourne to the hard work he has recently put into training: “One of my most important goals was not to have any fluctuations in performance in the matches, and I work on that in every training session. No matter whether I train for two or two and a half hours, whether I play sets or compete against another player, I just try to play consistently at the same level and with the same concentration, point for point.”
The second semi-final hit of the day will be played by Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic from 9.30 a.m. (ServusTV & Eurosport live). While the favorite from Sexten wants to continue on his way to a hat-trick of titles, the “Djoker” is still hoping for his 25th Grand Slam trophy.
