timeout

Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev over five hours but the latter is upset by officiating of injury.

Alexander Zverev condemned officials for allowing Carlos Alcaraz a medical timeout for a leg problem after ‍falling in an epic five-setter ‍to the Spaniard in the Australian Open’s longest semifinal.

World number one Alcaraz was struggling to move at 4-4 in the third set on Friday and was allowed treatment on his right thigh at the change of ends, leaving the German incensed.

While Alcaraz said post-match that he worried he may have ⁠strained an adductor muscle, Zverev was adamant the Spaniard’s problem was cramp, which is out of bounds for medical timeouts.

Alcaraz dropped ​the next two sets but was back running at full pelt in the fifth to close ‍out an epic 6-4 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-7(4) 7-5 win in five hours and 27 minutes.

“Yeah, I mean, he was cramping, so normally you can’t take a medical timeout for cramping,” third seed Zverev said at his post-match news conference.

“What can I do? It’s not my ‍decision. I didn’t ⁠like it, but it’s not my decision.”

On court, Zverev lashed out at a match supervisor in profanity-laden German as Alcaraz underwent treatment.

“I just said it was b******t, basically,” he said later of the exchange, noting that Alcaraz finished full of running.

“He took like an hour and a half off where he wasn’t moving almost at all.

“So again, maybe I should have used that better in a way. Maybe I should have won the games and won the sets a bit quicker. Then moving into the fifth, maybe he ​wouldn’t have had so much time to recover. But the fifth set, the way ‌he was moving, was incredible again.”

Alcaraz admits his body could be better ahead of Australian Open final

When asked whether he was injured, Alcaraz equivocated.

“Well, obviously I feel tired. You know, obviously my body could be better, to be honest, but I think that’s normal after five hours and a half.”

Runner-up to Jannik Sinner last ‌year, Zverev was serving for the match at 5-4 in the fifth set of Friday’s semifinal but Alcaraz won the next three games to leave the German with ‌another near-miss at the Grand Slams.

Still chasing an elusive first major title, ⁠Zverev said he had more regrets about dropping the second set than his surrender in the fifth.

“I was hanging on for dear life, to be honest. I was exhausted,” he said, rating the match as probably the toughest physically of his career.

“I think we both went to our absolute ‌limits, so somewhat I’m also proud of myself, the way I was hanging on and came back from two sets to love.

“Of course it’s disappointing but this is the start of the year, so if I continue playing that ‍way, if I continue training the way I train, if I continue working on the things that I’ve been working in the offseason, I do believe it’s going to be a good year for me.”