Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to reach all four Grand Slam finals and can now become the youngest player to win all four Grand Slam finals.

Carlos Alcaraz overcame cramps and injuries to beat Alexander Zverev in an epic, majestic five-set match to become the youngest player in the Open era to reach the finals of all four Grand Slam tournaments.

At 22, he aims to become the youngest person to complete a career Grand Slam.

He struggled to reach his first Australian Open final on Friday, winning 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7 (4), 7-5 in 5 hours and 27 minutes.

Although he fell two points short of a semifinal victory in the third set, he did not drop a set in five rounds.

After losing the first game, he fell behind in the fifth set and did not break serve until Zverev’s serve in the tenth game.

Alcaraz will next face two-time defending champion Janik Sinner or 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who is seeking an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles title. A long afternoon of play delayed the start of the evening’s semifinals.

Top-ranked Alcaraz is two sets ahead and his form appears to have earned him last year’s U.S. Open title and helped him level with Sinner in the last eight majors.

But in the ninth inning of the third inning, he began limping and appeared to be battling an upper right leg issue. He took a medical timeout in transition after leading 5-4. It might have been a cramp, but he rubbed the inside of his right thigh and called his trainer, who also massaged the same area.

Zverev was visibly upset while speaking to tournament officials as his opponent was given a three-minute break to receive treatment.

Although Alcaraz’s footwork was limited, he was able to hit the winning shot to bring the score to 6-5 before the coach massaged the area again during a line change.

When he returned, the crowd gave him a roar of support. Zverev opened the next game with a double fault, and Alcaraz lobbed the ball and used a forehand winner to chase the score to 0-30. But Zverev scored four points in a row to force the tiebreaker into a decider.

Despite Alcaraz’s apparent discomfort on the other side of the net, No. 3 Zverev, the 2025 runner-up, remained calm and the Rod Laver Arena crowd stood solidly behind the Spaniard.

He led throughout the fourth set, but Alcaraz kept him company until Zverev dominated again in the decider. More than four hours passed and the match entered the fifth set, the first five-set match on Center Court in the 2026 tournament.

Alcaraz lost serve in the opening game of the fifth set, but faced Zverev and had five break opportunities but failed to do so.

Drama ensued in the sixth game when Alcaraz sprinted across the court in pursuit of a ball and, gliding at full speed, hit an angled forehand winner. The crowd went crazy.

In the fifth set, Alcaraz finally broke Zverev’s serve and the score was 5-4.

He held the score at 6-5 and took his first match point on Zverev’s serve to preserve the match.