Alexander Zverev lost his cool during his Australian Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz, accusing tournament officials of bending the rules to protect the Spanish star.
The drama unfolded at Rod Laver Arena with a spot in the final on the line.
Alcaraz had cruised through the tournament without dropping a single set. Zverev’s path was tougher – he’d already lost sets to four different players on his way to the semis.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Zverev | 28 | 6,885 | 34 - 10 |
It looked like it was going to be Alcaraz’s night early on. He’d won the first two sets and seemed in complete control.
Then everything changed in the ninth game of the third set.
The Controversy Begins
With the score tied at 4-4, Alcaraz suddenly started stretching his legs. Something was clearly wrong with the world No. 1.
After losing a point that tied the game at 15-all, Alcaraz took his sweet time stretching. The umpire, Marijana Veljovic, didn’t call the score for about 15 seconds.
That meant the shot clock never started.
Zverev was not happy about this. He immediately questioned why Veljovic waited so long to call the score. Her response? She was checking to make sure Alcaraz was okay since she wasn’t sure what was happening.
Zverev fired back that his opponent was cramping – implying the umpire was basically giving Alcaraz free recovery time.
But that was just the beginning.
Things Get Heated
Alcaraz managed to win that ninth game despite clearly struggling. During the changeover, he called for the physio.
Here’s where things got really controversial.
The physio started massaging Alcaraz’s right leg. Under tennis rules, you can’t get a medical timeout for cramps. Period.
Zverev was absolutely furious because he was convinced that’s exactly what was happening.
The German marched over to the tournament referee and let him have it. He accused officials of "protecting the two guys" – clearly referring to Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who’d had a similar situation earlier in the tournament.
"No, but that’s unbelievable. You’re protecting those two, it’s unbelievable. This can’t be happening, you can’t be serious. You can’t be serious."
Was Zverev Right?
After the medical timeout, play resumed with Alcaraz continuing to receive treatment during changeovers.
Here’s the kicker: Alcaraz was seen drinking what appeared to be pickle juice.
Anyone who’s played sports knows that pickle juice is the go-to remedy for cramps. So Zverev’s suspicions might’ve been spot-on.
Whatever was wrong with Alcaraz, it definitely affected his play. Zverev stormed back to win the third set 7-3 in a tiebreak, getting himself right back into the match.
The big question remains: Did Alcaraz really get special treatment from the officials? Or was this just a case of the physio making a bad judgment call if the Spaniard was indeed just dealing with cramps?
Either way, it’s the kind of controversy that’ll have tennis fans talking for a while. And you can bet Zverev won’t forget this anytime soon.
