MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) 鈥� Alexander Zverev vented angrily on the court when Carlos Alcaraz was given a medical timeout in the third set of their Australian Open semifinal, and he didn’t backtrack on his opinion after losing an
Zverev had first say in the semifinal post-match news conferences Friday, repeating more or less what he told a tournament supervisor on the court: He believed Alcaraz had cramps and it wasn’t cause for a medical timeout.
鈥淣ormally you can鈥檛 take a medical timeout for cramping鈥� he said after the longest semifinal ever at the Australian Open. 鈥淲hat can I do? It鈥檚 not my decision. I didn鈥檛 like it, but it鈥檚 not my decision.鈥�
Alcaraz arrived for his official news conference around two hours later and said he needed an assessment because the pain was very localized. That’s within the rules.
The 22-year-old Spaniard said he’d experienced cramps before but this felt different because it 鈥渨as on a specific just one muscle, so I didn鈥檛 think (it) was cramp at all at the beginning.鈥�
It wasn’t particularly hot by Melbourne standards, the afternoon match starting in temperatures close to 30 degrees Celsius (86 Fahrenheit) but dropping to around 27 Celsius (80F) when Alcaraz started to struggle around 2 hours, 40 minutes into the match.
鈥淪o I didn鈥檛 know exactly what it was, because I just go around to a forehand and then I started to feel it just in the right adductor,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I just called the physio, because it was just that moment.鈥�
He said his left leg was fine at the time.
Timing
It all started in the ninth game of the third set 鈥� with Alcaraz two sets up 鈥� when he started limping and appeared to be struggling with an upper right leg problem.
After holding for 5-4, he took a medical timeout in the changeover. He rubbed the inside of his right thigh and called for the trainer, who also massaged the same area.
鈥淲ith all the stress that I didn鈥檛 know what鈥檚 going on, didn鈥檛 know if it鈥檚 going to be worse or not, it came everything after all,鈥� Alcaraz said. 鈥淚n that moment I just talked to the physio. … He decided to take the medical timeout.鈥�
Even with his limited footwork, Alcaraz was able to hit winners and get to 6-5 before the trainer returned in the changeover to massage the area again.
When he went back out, the crowd gave him rousing support. Zverev served a double-fault to open the next game, and Alcaraz lobbed and then slapped a forehand winner down the line to get to 0-30, getting within two points of victory. But Zverev won four straight points to force the tiebreaker and then win it.
The No. 3-seeded Zverev said that while he won the next two sets, he missed a chance to win them quicker and reserve energy for the fifth.
鈥淯nbelievable fight, battle. Unfortunate ending for me, but to be honest, I had absolutely nothing left in me,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ormally I can rely on my serve a bit more. My legs stopped pushing upward, so yeah, that鈥檚 the way it is. This is life. We move on.鈥�
Cramps
The issue of timing for rule interventions has caused wide public debate since the tournament’s extreme heat policy was activated while two-time defending champion in his third-round match. After a break for the roof to be closed, Sinner returned with way more energy and rallied to win.
There was plenty of online speculation about the medical timeout, too. But Zverev thought it was time to let it go.
鈥淭o be honest, I don鈥檛 want to talk about this right now, because I think this is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 deserve to be the topic now.鈥�
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