January 24, (THEWILL) – Sixth seed Alexander Zverev pulled off a huge upset at the 2024 Australian Open on Wednesday, stunning second seed Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 and 6-4 to reach his first semi-final at Melbourne Park.
The German was in scintillating form, dropping just two points on serve in a lopsided opening set. He remained rock solid to keep the unusually dynamic Alcaraz at bay and grabbed two pivotal breaks in set two.
Alcaraz finally found some momentum late on, playing an astonishing tiebreaker in set three to prolong the match. However, a tiring Zverev dug extremely deep in the fourth, breaking the Spaniard at 4-4 before closing out his maiden career victory over a top-five player at a Grand Slam.
The 26-year-old Zverev struck the ball tremendously all match, overpowering the world number two with a phenomenal serving display. He hit 24 aces and won a remarkable 82% of points on his first serve. After three hours of pulsating action, Zverev prevailed to set up a last-four clash with Russian star Daniil Medvedev.
It marks a huge moment in the German’s career as he bids to capture his elusive first Grand Slam title in Melbourne. Based on today’s performance, few would bet against him going all the way. Alcaraz, on the other hand, will need to reset to get his race to number one back on track.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
