Hubert Hurkacz

The Wimbledon champion had been in excellent form in Melbourne and threatened a comeback after a slow start but it was Zverev who moved through to the last four thanks to a 6-1 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-4 victory clinched at 1.19am.

In his seventh grand slam semi-final, Zverev will take on third seed Daniil Medvedev, who earlier battled past Hubert Hurkacz in five sets.

Alcaraz was heavily fancied to make it an all top-four semi-final line-up but he looked very tight at the start and Zverev took full advantage, barely missing a first serve and striking his groundstrokes with power and precision.

The German has faced a lot of off-court scrutiny regarding his forthcoming domestic abuse trial – he denies the allegations – but his ability as a tennis player is unquestionable.

Alcaraz briefly rallied in the second set but he was staring at defeat inside two hours when Zverev served for victory at 5-3 in the third.

The Spaniard was not done yet, finally breaking the Zverev serve and then playing a sublime tie-break, but ultimately there were too many errors from his racket.

This was Alcaraz’s best run in Melbourne, and he said: “It has been a good tournament for me, making quarter-finals, playing good tennis.

“I’m sad with my level today, because I have been playing good tennis, the round before this one with a lot of confidence. Serving pretty well.

“But in general I leave the tournament happy. Forgetting about today’s level. Obviously quarter-final of a grand slam is good. It’s not what I’m looking for, but it’s not bad.

“It’s a shame that I started the match like the way that I did and ending the way that I did. But it’s tennis.”

Alcaraz played down the impact of being without his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who is back in Spain recovering from knee surgery.

“It didn’t affect (me) at all,” said the 20-year-old. “As I said, I was playing great tennis without him. I had Samuel (Lopez), that is a pretty good coach as well. I trust him 100 per cent.”

Zverev, who lost his only grand slam final to Dominic Thiem at the US Open in 2020, received treatment for blisters on his foot at the end of the third set but rallied well, helped by a phenomenal serving display.

“When you’re up 6-1 6-3 5-2, you start thinking,” said the sixth seed, for whom this was a first win over a top-five opponent at a grand slam.

“It’s not always helpful but I’m happy I got there in the end. I fought back quite well in the fourth set.”

Earlier, Medvedev struggled in the heat of the day against ninth seed Hurkacz, who was looking to make the last four at a grand slam for only the second time.

The Pole twice fought back from a set down but Medvedev came out on top 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 after three hours and 59 minutes.

The Russian finished it off with a drop shot before blowing kisses towards his box.

Medvedev will now try to reach the final for the third time in four years, and he said: “I’m so destroyed right now. I was feeling very tired physically at the end of the second set already.

“In the fourth set, he played good, I wasn’t beating myself up. I had no more concentration, I thought, ‘I just have to try my best to do whatever I can. If I lose, I lose and I go home. It’s OK’.

“I’m happy that like this I managed to win and I really liked the match point.”

The Wimbledon champion had been in excellent form in Melbourne and threatened a comeback after a slow start but it was Zverev moving through to the last four thanks to a 6-1 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-4 victory clinched at 1.19am.

In his seventh grand slam semi-final, Zverev will take on third seed Daniil Medvedev, who earlier battled past Hubert Hurkacz in five sets.

Alcaraz was heavily fancied to make it an all top-four semi-final line-up but he looked very tight at the start and Zverev took full advantage, barely missing a first serve and striking his groundstrokes with power and precision.

The German had faced a lot of off-court scrutiny regarding his forthcoming domestic abuse trial – he denies the allegations – but his ability as a tennis player was unquestionable.

Alcaraz improved at the start of the second set, finding some of the dynamic, all-court play that has made him such a fan favourite, but he could not take either of two break points in the sixth game.

He then found himself under more pressure in the following game and, after being given a time violation, he netted a forehand to drop serve again.

Alcaraz, who had comfortably beaten Zverev at the same stage of the US Open last summer, looked furious with himself but he could not conjure up any response as errors continued to flow from his racket.

The end seemed nigh when Zverev, who lost his only grand slam final to Dominic Thiem at the US Open in 2020, broke serve again to lead 3-1 in the third set.

But Alcaraz roused himself just in time to break the Zverev serve for the first time at 5-3 and then reeled off a string of seven absurd points to win the tie-break and take it to a fourth set.

The German received treatment for blisters on his foot and Alcaraz seemed to have the momentum but more errors helped Zverev break to lead 5-4 and this time he managed to serve it out, securing his first victory over a top-five opponent at a slam.

“When you’re up 6-1 6-3 5-2, you start thinking,” said Zverev. “It’s not always helpful but I’m happy I got there in the end. I fought back quite well in the fourth set.”

Earlier, Medvedev struggled in the heat of the day against ninth seed Hurkacz, who was looking to make the last four at a grand slam for only the second time.

The Pole twice fought back from a set down but Medvedev came out on top 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 after three hours and 59 minutes.

The Russian finished it off with a drop shot before blowing kisses towards his box.

Medvedev will now try to reach the final for the third time in four years, and he said: “I’m so destroyed right now. I was feeling very tired physically at the end of the second set already.

“In the fourth set, he played good, I wasn’t beating myself up. I had no more concentration, I thought, ‘I just have to try my best to do whatever I can. If I lose, I lose and I go home. It’s OK’. I’m happy that like this I managed to win and I really liked the match point.”

It was a back-and-forth contest throughout between the two big servers, who both move tremendously well for such tall men.

Medvedev edged the first set on a tie-break and looked to be in full control when, having dropped the second, he took the third and moved a break ahead in the fourth.

But Hurkacz, who had won his last two matches against the Russian and their only previous grand slam meeting at Wimbledon in 2021, did not allow his head to drop and levelled at 4-4.

It was now Medvedev under real pressure on serve, and Hurkacz clinched his opportunity to force a decider when his opponent sent a forehand long.

Medvedev had survived a five-setter in the second round, coming from two sets down to defeat Emil Ruusuvuori at nearly 4am.

And the third seed was not to be denied, a break in the seventh game proving the difference.

Ninth seed Hurkacz, who was looking to make the last four at a grand slam for only the second time, twice fought back from a set down but Medvedev came out on top 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 after three hours and 59 minutes.

The Russian finished it off with a drop shot before blowing kisses towards his box.

Medvedev will now try to reach the final for the third time in four years, and he said: “I’m so destroyed right now. I was feeling very tired physically at the end of the second set already.

“In the fourth set, he played good, I wasn’t beating myself up. I had no more concentration, I thought, ‘I just have to try my best to do whatever I can. If I lose, I lose and I go home. It’s OK’. I’m happy that like this I managed to win and I really liked the match point.”

It was a back-and-forth contest throughout between the two big servers, who both move tremendously well for such tall men.

Medvedev edged the first set on a tie-break and looked to be in full control when, having dropped the second, he took the third and moved a break ahead in the fourth.

But Hurkacz, who had won his last two matches against the Russian and their only previous grand slam meeting at Wimbledon in 2021, did not allow his head to drop and levelled at 4-4.

It was now Medvedev under real pressure on serve, and Hurkacz clinched his opportunity to force a decider when his opponent sent a forehand long.

Medvedev had survived a five-setter in the second round, coming from two sets down to defeat Emil Ruusuvuori at nearly 4am.

And the third seed was not to be denied, a break in the seventh game proving the difference.

The 22-year-old Italian won a three-hour marathon 7-5 6-7 (5) 7-6 (2) in a match of high tension and tremendous quality.

Defending champion Djokovic next faces Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday in his final group match as he bids to reach the semi-finals.

In front of a raucous home crowd, Sinner grabbed the crucial break in the 11th game, despite finding himself 40-0 down, and then held to love to take the first set.

Djokovic, on a 19-match winning streak, took the second set to a tie-break and was twice a mini-break down before levelling the match, cupping his ear to the spectators.

World number four Sinner then played a stunning return game, breaking Djokovic to 15 with a punishing forehand to move 4-2 up in the third.

But with two hours and 40 minutes on the clock, Djokovic finally broke his young opponent for the first time in the match.

At 5-6 Djokovic began conducting the jeering crowd from his seat at the changeover.

The six-time ATP Finals champion had won 30 tie-breaks this season but number 31 proved elusive as Sinner moved 5-0 up before sealing a statement win with a smash.

“I feel I’m a bit more confident in certain moments but I still have to learn many things,” he said on Amazon Prime.

“I think I was really brave and intelligent, especially in the third set. I think we both played really well.

“It means a lot to me. When you win against the world number one who won 24 grand slams it’s up at the top.”

The afternoon match ended prematurely when Stefanos Tsitsipas retired after just 15 minutes, handing Holger Rune his first win.

Denmark’s Rune, 20, was leading 2-1 when Greek world number six Tsitsipas pulled out due to a back injury.

Tsitsipas was forced to withdraw from the tournament and was replaced by Hurkacz.

“Unfortunately, I felt terrible on the court. I did what I could do in the best possible way to be ready and fit for this match, but it didn’t work out for me,” Tsitsipas, the 2019 champion, said in his press conference.

“It kills me not to be able to finish this tournament, the one that I’ve prepped for for so long.”

The seven-time champion’s plans for a day off were scuppered by the strict 11pm curfew in SW19, meaning the match was halted on Sunday evening with Djokovic two sets to the good.

Upon returning to Centre Court, Djokovic was inconvenienced further when Polish 17th seed Hurkacz stole the third set.

But the 36-year-old hit back to register a 7-6 (6) 7-6 (6) 5-7 6-4 victory and book a 14th quarter-final at the Championships.

He said: “Big credit for Hubert for playing an amazing match, tough luck for him. he put up a great performance.

“Honestly, I don’t recall the last time I felt this miserable on returning games, due to his incredibly accurate and powerful serve.

“He’s got one of the best serves in the world and it’s so difficult to read it. Playing on the quickest surface it really favours the big servers so it was not really an enjoyable match for me.

“But I guess in the important moments last night I was fortunate to win the first set. This match could definitely have gone a different way but I held my nerve and I’m happy to win.”

Djokovic had not faced so much as a break point in his previous 53 service games, so a third tie-break seemed inevitable until Hurkacz forced two at 6-5 and the Serbian dumped the second into the net.

Hurkacz fended off two break points – the first he had faced since the second set, some 17 hours ago – at 3-3 in the fourth but when he slipped on the baseline at deuce, Djokovic converted the third.

It was the first time Hurkacz had dropped serve at these Championships and it proved enough to see the 23-time grand slam champion through to a meeting with Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the last eight.

“He’s a different player to Hurkacz, for sure,” added Djokovic. “He’s got very powerful, quick groundstrokes, stays close to the line and has one of the best forehands in the game, loves to dictate… I’m not going to talk too much about tactics.

“I have to be ready. The matches are only going to get harder. It’s tough to say it’s going to get harder than what I experienced yesterday and today, but I have to be ready for that.

“Rublev has been a top-10 player for many years and he’s looking for his first semi-finals at a grand slam. Hopefully it’s not gonna happen.”

The German, chasing his first-ever grass-court title, needed two and a half hours to get his 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 6-4 victory.

Neither player managed a break in the opening set, matching each other evenly before Fils finally got the edge in the tie-break to take the lead.

Zverev soon raised his level though, and during a run of eight consecutive points, broke the Frenchman to love at 3-2 on his way to forcing a decider.

Despite another bright start to the set by Fils, he failed to get a single break, with Zverev rallying to set up a meeting with Hubert Hurkacz in the next round.

Data Debrief: Zverev edges ever-closer to grass title

Zverev is 37-10 for the season, and is the first person since Roger Federer (2012-19) to reach back-to-back semi-finals at the Halle Open.

A two-time finalist at the tournament, the German is hoping to add two more wins to his 18-7 record in Germany to finally get his hands on the trophy.