Australian Open: Alcaraz continues career Slam quest with epic win over Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz overcame injury and Alexander Zverev to reach the Australian Open final in remarkable fashion.

Alcaraz looked set to lose a match from being two sets up for the first time in his career, as Zverev wrestled himself into a 5-3 lead in the final set.

Yet the Spaniard, who is aiming to become the youngest man to win the career Grand Slam, found a final push to reel off four straight games and prevail 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (3-7) 6-7 (6-4) 7-5.

At five hours and 27 minutes, it was the longest match at this edition of the Australian Open, and the third-longest in the tournament's history.

Alcaraz sustained a quad injury midway through the third set on Friday, and required a medical timeout. Zverev was not happy, believing his opponent was merely suffering from cramp.

Zverev perhaps used that frustration to propel himself into the lead, and he had the match in his hands with that two-game lead.

Yet after Alcaraz served to stay in it, the German failed to serve out the victory, handing the world number one a chance he did not miss.

He will now face Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final.

Data Debrief: History maker Alcaraz continues surge

Alcaraz (22 years and 258 days) is the youngest man in the Open Era to reach 4+ consecutive major finals, surpassing Sinner (23 years 318 days).

He is also the youngest man in the Open Era to reach the final at all four grand slams.

Meanwhile, since the rankings were first published in 1973, Zverev (23.5%, 4-13) holds the lowest win rate of any player against fellow ATP top 10 opponents at the majors (minimum 10 matches played).