Carlos Alcaraz battles past Alexander Zverev in epic Australian Open semi-final

Now the Spaniard must hope he has enough time to fully recover for Sunday’s final, when he will take on either his great rival Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic.

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory over Alexander Zverev. Pic: Aaron Favila/AP

Carlos Alcaraz produced one of the gutsiest wins of his career as he battled through physical struggles and staged a fifth-set fightback to beat Alexander Zverev in an epic Australian Open semi-final.

The world number one looked to be cruising on Rod Laver Arena at two sets to love up, only to suffer what appeared to be a bout of cramp late in the third set.