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‘He has to sweat’ — Can Zverev rise to Alcaraz’s SF challenge at Australian Open?

  • Posted: Jan 29, 2026

At an Australian Open where the stakes stretch beyond a place in the final, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev collide in Friday’s semi-final with vastly different milestones in sight, and their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry finely balanced at 6–6.

Alcaraz, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, is chasing his first Australian Open title, with which he would complete the Career Grand Slam, while for Zverev — a three-time major finalist and last year’s runner-up in Melbourne — the stakes centre on a long-awaited maiden Slam trophy.

Their clash is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. local time / 10:30 p.m. EST inside Rod Laver Arena.

Their paths to the semi-finals reflect that contrast. Zverev has been repeatedly tested, dropping a set in four of five matches, while Alcaraz has been clinical throughout, reaching his fourth straight major semi-final — and first in Melbourne — without dropping a set. Alcaraz has since closely tracked both Zverev’s level and the toll required to sustain it.

“I’ve watched his matches through the tournament,” Alcaraz said of Zverev. “It’s impressive the level he’s been playing so far, so it’s going to be a great battle. I know that he’s serving pretty well. He’s playing really solid and aggressive when he can in the rallies from the baseline.

“I will be ready, for sure. I’m excited about playing him here [at the] AO in a semi-final. I know what I have to do. I will be well prepared for that match. If he wants to beat me, he has to sweat a lot.”

Alcaraz’s quarter-final win over Alex de Minaur showcased his growing control in Melbourne, lifting his intensity after a tight opening set through heavier ball striking and disciplined aggression. These are traits he will again rely on to drag Zverev into physical exchanges.

Zverev’s run has been powered by his serve. Against Learner Tien, he struck 24 aces and used his first strike to shorten points, a pattern that has defined his tournament and will be central if he is to avoid extended rallies.

The semi-final may hinge on whether Alcaraz can stretch Zverev and prolong exchanges, or whether Zverev can impose his serve and draw on his experience at this stage in Melbourne — including last year’s final — in a setting that remains new territory for Alcaraz at the Australian Open.

“I actually feel like top players feel the most pressure in the beginning, not having an early exit,” Zverev said before he knew the outcome of Alcaraz and De Minaur’s quarter-final. “Now, whoever I’m going to play in the semis, Carlos or Alex, they’re great players. You just are looking forward to a fantastic match. That’s what you are looking forward to.

“Of course, in my case, I’m still chasing that desired Slam. I still want to achieve that, but I also want to enjoy my tennis. Right now I’m doing that, and that’s the most important thing for me.”

With history beckoning on both sides, a rivalry locked at 6–6, and contrasting strengths poised to collide, this Australian Open semi-final shapes as a test of strategy, stamina and nerve.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Shelton on Sinner loss: 'I'm trying to put all the pieces together'

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2026

Ben Shelton may have been stopped at a major for the fourth time by Jannik Sinner, but the American left Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday with plenty to be encouraged by after another deep Grand Slam run.

The eighth seed dropped just one set en route to his fifth major quarter-final before running into the Italian once again, with Sinner extending his dominance in the rivalry to a 9-1 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“I think my level is better, and I’m getting better and better and becoming a lot less limited,” Shelton said when analysing his progress. “I think this game takes time, and the results don’t always come when you want them. I’m getting to the point now where I’m getting stopped by the toughest challenge in the game for the most part, and I do think that I’m close to bringing it all together.

“I think it’s just going to take that one time where I do it to kind of get me over the hump. It’s always been that way for me. Certainly not discouraged from a performance like this, but I want to see myself get out in front and see what I can do from there in a match rather than falling behind just because I know how I feel when I get out in front at slams. I feel like I’m untouchable. I guarantee the other guys at the top feel the exact same.

“It’s a matter of time and work just trying to put all the pieces together, because I’m not complete yet, but I feel myself becoming more complete.”

Shelton reached his first major quarter-final at the Australian Open in 2023. The 23-year-old has since won three tour-level titles, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto, and cracked the Top 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

At Slams, Shelton has often delivered, highlighted by semi-finals at the US Open (2023) and Australian Open (2025). It is under those conditions, he admits, that his competitive instincts are strongest.

“I’m an addict. I’ve become more and more addicted to this game and figuring things out, chasing the guys who are ahead of me,” Shelton said. “It’s feeling the pressure that you feel on the court at a Grand Slam, there’s no better feeling… That’s what drives me every day, and I just feel like the drive getting stronger and stronger each year.”

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Shelton caused two-time defending champion Sinner problems at times with his destructive first serve and bruising forehands, yet was unable to capitalise in the key moments in his 3-6, 4-6, 4-6 loss.

“I think I had two second-serve looks on break points today, and I think I missed both of them, or maybe one of them I hit weak and he spread me quickly,” Shelton said reflecting on the match.

“I think that with other guys, I can get away with putting in the court and either being at neutral or having to scramble a little bit at the first ball and then getting back to neutral or getting on offense. I was doing a really good job of that. But with a guy who has the plus-one ability that he has off of both sides, I needed to be a lot better and have more purpose with my second-serve return, which I thought that he had against me. He was able to put me in uncomfortable positions and get to offense a good amount of times on my second serve and make me think about which serves I was using.”

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Two sets up, no way through: Musetti joins rare major retirement list

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2026

When Lorenzo Musetti walked to the net on Tuesday night at the Australian Open, the scoreboard told a story that tennis almost never sees.

Two sets to love up against Novak Djokovic, the Italian was forced to retire in their quarter-final, joining one of the sport’s most painful and unusual footnotes: players who have led by two sets at a Grand Slam and never finished the match.

Remarkably, this is not the first time Musetti has found himself on the wrong side of this rare statistic and against the same opponent. At Roland Garros in 2021, Musetti stunned the tennis world by taking the opening two sets from Djokovic in the fourth round. Physical struggles followed, Djokovic surged back, and Musetti eventually retired in the fifth set. Five years later, on a different surface, history repeated itself.

Across the entire Open Era (since 1968), there have been only a handful of instances where a player has retired from a major match despite holding a two-set advantage. Grigor Dimitrov was the most recent example at last year’s Wimbledon, where he retired due to a pectoral injury when leading Jannik Sinner 6-3, 7-5, 2-2.

Match (Retired Player Second) Score At Retirement Major
Jannik Sinner-Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 5-7, 2-2 Wimbledon 2025 
Ethan Quinn-Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 Roland Garros 2025
Diego Schwartzman-Jack Sock 3-6, 5-7, 6-0, 6-1 US Open 2022
Novak Djokovic-Lorenzo Musetti 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-0, 4-0 Roland Garros 2021
Florent Serra-Steve Darcis  6-7, 3-6, 5-4  Australian Open 2012
Michael Russell-Sergi Bruguera 4-6, 5-7, 6-3 Roland Garros 2001
Grover Raz Reid-Sandy Mayer  3-6, 5-7, 7-6 US Open 1974 
Georges Goven-Mike Belkin 4-6, 5-7, 3-0 Roland Garros 1969
Andres Gimeno-Manuel Santana 4-6, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 1-0 Roland Garros 1969

Research contribution from Jon Jeraj

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Sinner brushes past Shelton, sets Djokovic Australian Open SF

  • Posted: Jan 28, 2026

Jannik Sinner kept his Australian Open three-peat bid rolling on Wednesday, when he produced another ruthless performance to brush aside Ben Shelton and extend his stranglehold against the American.

The two-time defending champion, unbeaten in Melbourne since 2023, never looked in serious danger against Shelton, moving past the eighth seed 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to book his place in the semi-finals.

Shelton had dropped just one set on his way to a third Australian Open quarter-final, but as in the pair’s previous meetings, he struggled to unleash his explosive game against the Italian. Sinner exposed Shelton’s backhand, rushed him on the forehand wing and dictated from the baseline to improve his Lexus ATP Head2Head record to a commanding 9-1. All four of their major encounters have now gone Sinner’s way, twice in Australia and twice at Wimbledon.

“It is very tough to play against Ben,” Sinner said. “He has a huge, huge serve and I feel like he is improving so much, year after year. Especially after the offseason, you don’t know how certain players are going to play against you and change lots of things. I am very happy with today’s performance.”

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Into his ninth Grand Slam semi-final and third at the Australian Open, the four-time major champion faces a blockbuster next test against record 10-time winner Novak Djokovic. Sinner has enjoyed notable semi-final success against the Serbian before, defeating him at that stage at the Australian Open (2024), Roland Garros (2025) and Wimbledon (2025).

“These are the moments you practise for,” Sinner said on facing Djokovic. “I will wake up in the morning and will look forward to playing a good match hopefully. If you want to win you have to play at your best. In the past I have had great lessons and it doesn’t really matter the result, it improves you as a player and a person. We are lucky to still have Novak here, playing incredible tennis at his age.”

Rock-solid behind his first serve and unflinching in the longer rallies, the second seed never allowed Shelton a foothold, calmly absorbing pace before redirecting it with interest. Sinner quickly found his range on Rod Laver Arena, announcing his intent with a backhand around-the-net-post winner to open the third game. Moments later, he struck the decisive blow, breaking Shelton’s serve when the World No. 7 pushed a forehand into the bottom of the net to slip behind 1-3.

Sinner closed out the opening set in commanding fashion, finishing with an 18–4 winners-to-unforced-errors advantage in the set, and carried that momentum seamlessly into the second. The pressure on Shelton’s game only intensified, with the three-time tour-level titlist unable to settle into a clear pattern of play and faltering at crucial moments. Shelton squandered all three break points he created in the set and leaked a further 17 unforced errors, allowing Sinner to pull further clear.

Sinner, who appeared to struggle physically in the closing stages of the second set, earned the decisive break of the third set in the ninth game when Shelton hit a double fault down 15/40. The Italian closed out on serve to advance after two hours and 23 minutes.

Did You Know?
Sinner has won all 18 of his Grand Slam matches against American opponents and owns a 6-2 record against Top 10 players at the hard-court major, having lost his first two such encounters to Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022 and 2023.

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