Updated at 14.56
ALEXANDER ZVEREV stunned dynamic Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the early hours of Thursday to surge into an Australian Open semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, weathering a big fightback from the world number two.
The German sixth seed eventually prevailed 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4 on Rod Laver Arena to make the last four at a Grand Slam for the seventh time.
Zverev, still searching for a breakthrough major title, will meet Medvedev next after the Russian third seed battled past Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in five gruelling sets.
But he had to dig deep to get past Alcaraz, who was 2-5 down in the third set and seemingly out for the count.
“I’m playing one of the best players in the world, especially over the last two years … he’s won two Grand Slams,” said Zverev.
“When you’re up 6-1, 6-3, 5-2, you start thinking, ‘we’re all human, and it’s a great honour to play against guys like this’ and when you’re so close to winning your brain starts going and it’s not always helpful.
“But I’m happy that I fought back quite well in the fourth set and didn’t let go.”
The 26-year-old last made the semis in Melbourne in 2020 and has only once been to a Grand Slam final, when he lost the 2020 US Open decider to Dominic Thiem despite holding a 2-0 lead.
Before meeting Zverev, Alcaraz had only dropped one set and a single service game and had spent five hours less on court than the German.
But he did not know what had hit him in the opening set, with an ultra-aggressive Zverev ripping through it in 29 minutes, getting 16 of 18 first serves in play and winning 14 of those points.
The Spaniard refocused and was more authoritative in the second set, hitting his groundstrokes and getting to the net.
But Zverev saved two break points in the sixth game then swooped in the next game, coming to the net for a winner to move 4-3 ahead and breaking again to take the set.
A shellshocked Alcaraz struggled to find a way back, with a double fault gifting the German a third break point, which he converted to pull 3-1 clear in the third set.
Zverev moved 5-2 ahead and it looked all over when he served for the match at 5-4, but the Spaniard flicked a switch and produced some sensational tennis to break for the first time.
It went to a tiebreak and with the crowd roaring him on Alcaraz took it to a fourth set.
Zverev appeared exhausted, but he found another wind and forced errors from Alcaraz for a crucial break and a 5-4 lead in the fourth and this time made no mistake serving for the match.
Meanwhile, Medvedev ground past big-serving Hubert Hurkacz into the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday as he edged closer to winning a second Grand Slam, admitting it had “destroyed” him physically, as Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska’s dream run continued.
The Russian world number three eventually tamed the Polish ninth seed 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in draining heat on Rod Laver Arena after a contest lasting nearly four hours.
Playing his 100th Grand Slam match, Medvedev is now into an eighth major semi-final, but has only gone to win only one title — at the 2021 US Open.
He made the final in Melbourne in 2021 and 2022, but succumbed to Novak Djokovic then Rafael Nadal.
“I am so destroyed right now,” he said. “I honestly was feeling it physically at the end of the second set already and I said to stay tough.
“Fourth set I’m just no more concentration and I have to try my best to do whatever I can.
“I’m happy that like this I managed to win.”
The Pole has one of the biggest and best serves in the game, but Medvedev is arguably the game’s top deep-court returner and he went on the attack from the outset, breaking immediately.
Hurkacz’s nerves settled and a backhand winner from the baseline in game six brought the first set back onto level terms.
It went to a tiebreak, where too many unforced errors from the Polish player proved costly.
Angry at his lapse in concentration, Hurkacz came out firing at the start of the second set, breaking Medvedev straight away and again in the seventh game to level the match.
But a rare double fault from the Pole — only his second of the match — while 30-40 down on his opening serve in set three again gave Medvedev the upper hand.
With Hurkacz stuttering, the Russian dialled up the pressure in the fourth set with an early break, but he faltered on serve at 4-3 to let Hurkacz back and it went to a deciding set.
The critical moment of the match came when Hurkacz was serving at 3-3 in the fifth and sent a backhand long to give the Russian the break he needed to ultimately seal the win.
In the opening match on centre court, 93rd-ranked Yastremska cruised past unseeded Czech Linda Noskova to become just the second women’s qualifier in the Open Era to get so far at the Australian Open.
She broke three times to win 6-3, 6-4 in 78 minutes and set up a clash against unseeded Russian Anna Kalinskaya or Chinese 12th seed Zheng Qinwen for a place in the final.
Yastremska is the first women’s qualifier to reach the last four at the season-opening Grand Slam since Australia’s Christine Matison in 1978.
“It’s nice to make history, because at that time I wasn’t even born,” she said.
The 23-year-old wrote a message of support for Ukrainian fighters involved in the war against Russia on a TV camera lens after her win.
“I’m very proud of them,” she said. “They really deserve huge respect. I always try to write something for Ukraine, about Ukraine.
“I think it’s my mission here. If I do well, I can get — tough to express. I’m just trying to give the signal to Ukraine that I’m really proud of it.”
Yastremska faced a tough battle to reach the main draw at Melbourne Park, being taken the distance in all three of her qualifying matches.
But she has since moved up a gear, eliminating Wimbledon champion and seventh seed Marketa Vondrousova in the first round and two-time champion Victoria Azarenka in the fourth round.
Collated results on day 11 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Wednesday (x denotes seeding):
Men’s singles
Quarter-finals
Daniil Medvedev (RUS x3) bt Hubert Hurkacz (POL x9) 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Alexander Zverev (GER x6) bt Carlos Alcaraz (ESP x2) 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2/7), 6-4
Women’s singles
Quarter-finals
Dayana Yastremska (UKR) bt Linda Noskova (CZE) 6-3, 6-4
Zheng Qinwen (CHN x12) bt Anna Kalinskaya (RUS) 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-1
Australian Open semi-finals line-up (x denotes seeding):
Men
Novak Djokovic (SRB x1) v Jannik Sinner (ITA x4)
Daniil Medvedev (RUS x3) v Alexander Zverev (GER x6)
Women
Dayana Yastremska (UKR) v Zheng Qinwen (CHN x12)
Coco Gauff (USA x4) v Aryna Sabalenka (BLR x2)
