Zverev plays down Alcaraz treatment controversy despite on-court frustration

Friday, 30 January 2026 at 10:43

Zverev&Alcaraz_AustralianOpen26_TennisAustralia

byErik Virostko

Alexander Zverev lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set battle, and understandably, one of the first questions he faced after the match was about his opponent's controversial medical timeout.

It seemed that Alcaraz was cruising to an easy straight-sets win over Zverev in the first semi-final of the men's singles at the 2026 Australian Open. That was until 4-4 in the third set when he had a 2-0 lead. Out of nowhere, the Spaniard started cramping.

Zverev first complained that the match umpire, Marijana Veljovic, gave Alcaraz extra time between the points in the ninth game, but at the time, Veljovic defended herself, saying she was trying to figure out whether the ATP world No. 1 player was fine.

After that game ended, however, Alcaraz received treatment from the physio, trying to battle the cramps, which stood between him and his maiden Australian Open final.

Players can't receive a medical timeout for cramps, which is why Zverev was furious. On the court, he said that the referees are "protecting" Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who also had a cramping episode at this year's Australian Open.

Partially thanks to Alcaraz's struggles, Zverev managed to dramatize the match. The German player leveled the score, and he even led by a break in the fifth set. Ultimately, however, Alcaraz ended up winning the match 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5.

The two are good friends, and immediately after the match, they shared a warm embrace at the net, with Zverev hugging his opponent, despite being quite clearly upset about his actions only a few hours prior to that.

Naturally, one of the first questions Zverev faced after the match was about Alcaraz's treatment, but he didn't want to speak about the topic. He felt like it wasn't necessary to discuss it and steal the spotlight from the epic fifth-set finish they produced.

"Yeah, I mean, he was cramping. Normally, you can't take a medical timeout for cramps. But what can I do? It's not my decision. I didn't like it, but it's not my decision."

Zverev was then asked what exactly he was saying to the tournament referee, as he was speaking German on the court, and one of the reporters wanted clarification. That's when the ATP world No. 3 stated he didn't want to talk about the topic.

"I just said it was bulls**t. [asked about saying they were protected] I don't remember. To be honest, it was 17 hours ago, and I don't quite remember, but I'm sure somebody has it on video, and you can check. But, to be honest, I don't want to talk about this right now, because I think this was one of the best battles that ever was in Australia, and it doesn't deserve to be the topic now."