Carlos Alcaraz didn’t know what was wrong with him in the third set. Neither did the physio, who elected to call a medical timeout to treat what eventually turned out to be cramps.
That’s what the Spaniard told reporters after his epic 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev on Friday night in Melbourne. Alcaraz took the medical timeout after the ninth game of the third set; at the time, Zverev was livid.
“It was really demanding, the match, but obviously when I just felt cramps before, and in the beginning when it was on a specific just one muscle, so I didn’t think it was cramp at all at the beginning. So I didn’t 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, so that’s why I just called the physio, because it was just that moment, the rest of the legs, the left leg was good. I mean, not good, but decent.”
According to Alcaraz, he thought it could be an adductor injury at first.
“You know, and after that with all the stress that I didn’t know what’s going on, I didn’t know if it’s going to be worse or not. In that moment I just talked to the physio. I said, ‘Okay, I just went to run to the forehand side, and I started to feel like the right adductor. He decided to take the medical timeout, and he did it.’ I just told what happened to the physio, and he decided to take medical.”
Zverev later said he didn’t really want to discuss the matter any longer.
“I just said it was bullshit, basically, because – I don’t remember. To be honest, it was 17 hours ago (joking about the length of the match) 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 is one of the best battles there ever was in Australia. It doesn’t deserve to be the topic now.”
Alcaraz improves to 15-1 lifetime in five-setters with his win.
“Obviously my body could be better, to be honest, but I think that’s normal after five hours and a half. Hopefully it’s not going to be nothing at all, but after a five-and-a-half-hour match and that high level of physically, I think the muscles are going to be tight, and I just got to do whatever it takes to be as good as I can for the final.”
