Zverev rages at Australian Open referees for 'protecting' Alcaraz with questionable medical timeout

Alexander Zverev got very upset during his semi-final match at the 2026 Australian Open against Carlos Alcaraz, feeling like the referees bent the rules for his opponent.

Alcaraz got into his maiden Australian Open semi-final without losing a set. Zverev, on the other hand, had lost a set to four different players on his way to the last four. Regardless of what happened during the first week and a half, the stage was set at the Rod Laver Arena, with the first final spot at stake.

It seemed that Alcaraz was cruising to an easy win when he won the first two sets of the match, and looked to be in control in the third set as well. That was until the ninth game of the third set, when the score was tied at 4-4.

The ATP world No. 1 player suddenly started stretching his legs, indicating that something was wrong. After losing the second point of the game, which tied the score at 15-all, Alcaraz took a prolonged time to stretch his legs, without the umpire of the match, Marijana Veljovic, calling the score.

That meant the shot clock didn't start either, which angered Zverev. He asked Veljovic why she waited for about 15 seconds before calling the score. She replied that she was making sure whether Alcaraz was fine, as she was not aware of what was happening. Zverev replied that his opponent was cramping, implying that by giving him extra time, the umpire was helping the Spaniard.

Although that angered Zverev, he got even more upset only a few moments later. Alcaraz managed to win the ninth game despite starting to struggle, and during the following changeover, he requested a physio.

After the physio made a short assessment, he decided to start massaging Alcaraz's right leg. It's not allowed to receive a medical timeout for cramps, which made Zverev furious, as he was 100% sure that his opponent was just cramping.

The German player furiously spoke with the tournament referee, accusing the referees and the organization of "protecting the two guys," which was obviously aimed at Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, who had a similar problem during this year's Australian Open.

After a short medical timeout, the match continued again, and Alcaraz continued receiving treatment during the changeovers. He seemingly also drank a bottle of pickle juice, which would suggest that Zverev was right to be angry, as pickle juice is used against cramps.

Ultimately, however, Alcaraz's health struggles, whatever they were, cost him the third set of the match, which Zverev won 7-3 in a tie-break. The German got back into the match, but the question remains whether Alcaraz really received preferential treatment, or if it was just a bad judgment call by the physio, if the Spaniard was indeed just cramping.