Halo of glory

MELBOURNE, January 24

Alexander Zverev served up a huge shock at the Australian Open today by stunning second seed Carlos Alcaraz to make the semifinals after third seed Daniil Medvedev fought hard to avoid an upset at the hands of Hubert Hurkacz.

Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska and Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen earlier progressed to the last-four stage of a Grand Slam for the first time after contrasting victories from a wide open section of the women’s draw.

Zverev was near-flawless on his delivery early in the clash on Rod Laver Arena and the sixth seed took advantage of mistakes from the racquet of Alcaraz to lay the foundation for a 6-1 6-3 6-7(2) 6-4 victory.

Two years on from Rafa Nadal’s “Miracle of Melbourne” when the Spaniard battled from two sets down to beat Medvedev in the final, his 20-year-old compatriot came to life by edging the third set but there would be no escape for Alcaraz.

Battling fatigue and an issue with his toes, German Zverev held firm in the face of relentless pressure to secure the win and set up a Friday semifinal showdown with Medvedev, who has won 11 of their 18 previous meetings.

“I wasn’t a contender to win tournaments like that. If I am now, I’m very happy about that,” Zverev said.

Third seed Medvedev, who lost back-to-back Melbourne Park finals in 2021 and 2022, pounced on the few chances offered up by Pole Hurkacz to get closer to returning to the title clash with a 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 win. — Reuters

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#Carlos Alcaraz #Grand Slam Tournament #Tennis #Wimbledon