By Roger Childs

Djokovic and Alcaraz both won in five sets on one of the great days of Grand Slam tennis. –The Athletic

Extraordinary entertainment

It is very unusual for the four top singles seeds to contest a grand slam semi-final. In Melbourne on Fridayn ight it happened and the spectators who lasted the 10 hours plus of quality tennis were treated to a wonderful spectacle. In the first match top seed Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz edged out fourth seed Sacha Zverev 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-7 7-5 in the longest match in Australian Open history –  over five hours twenty minutes. Then Serb legend, Novak Djokovic, unexpectedly edged out second seed Jannik Sinner 3-6 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4 to become the oldest man to qualify for the final of a major in the Open era.

Alcaraz recovers from cramps

Two sets to the good Alcaraz, the number one ranked player in the world, looked likely to win in three when he suffered painful cramps in his right thigh. He was allowed two sessions beside the court with the physio, but it seemed possible that he might retire. However he battled on and although his German opponent took the next two sets, the Spaniard seemed more comfortable the longer the game went.

In the final set Zverev just needed to hold serve when leading 5-4, but Alcaraz fought back to win the last three games to qualify for the final.

The 38 year old qualifies

His opponent will be one of the game’s all-time greats, Novak Djokovic, who will have the chance to win his twenty fifth grand slam, which will extend his record. He was not expected to beat last year’s winner Jannik Sinner, his junior by 14 years. Like the Alcaraz – Zverev match the lead kept changing and after three sets at two to one, Sinner appeared to have the match in hand.

But the highly experienced Serb is never one to ease up and raised his game to win the final sets 6-4 6-4.

A classic final on Sunday evening

The favourite is the world number one Carlos Alcaraz, but the sentimental favourite with be the Serbian legend who has won the Australian Open ten time already –  a record – but he will be working hard to nail his twenty fifth grand slam title. He hasn’t won a major since the US Open in 2023 and many pundits were convinced that number 25 wouldn’t happen.

On Sunday night Djokovic will be keen to prove them wrong.