Australian Open: Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz crashes out after one-sided defeat to Alexander Zverev

Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz has been knocked out of the Australian Open 2024 after a surprise straight-sets defeat to German Alexander Zverev on Wednesday (Jan 24). Alcaraz, the former World No.1 was one of the favourites to clinch the Australian Open title but was beaten by Zverev who won 6-1, 6-3, 7-5. Zverev will now face Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal with a place in Sunday’s final up for grabs for the German Olympic gold medalist.

Alcaraz knocked out of Australian Open

Coming into the match as a favourite, Alcaraz’s bubble was burst by Zverev after he started with a dominant start to the match. Zverev dropped only one game in the opening set and set the agenda for the rest of the contest. The German then consolidated his early lead and stamped his authority on the match with another dominant set. Breaking his Spanish opponent twice in the second set, Zverev raced away with the second set 6-3 and had a foot in the semis.

The third set also saw the German on the front foot where he broke Alcaraz again to establish an early lead. Zverev would serve for the match at one point but was broken at the decisive stage which paved the way for Alcaraz to come back in the match. From 5-3 down he would take the set to tiebreak. The Spaniard then hadthe upper hand in the tiebreak where he emerged victorious and pocketed the set.

Serving first in the fourth set did not give the defending Wimbledon champion any advantage who lost his serve in the first game. The early advantage was consolidated by the German as he dominated Alcaraz to maintain his serve. In the end, he held his serve to win the match 6-1, 6-3, 6-7, 6-4.

As things stand, it will be Medvedev against Zverev in the first semifinal while Novak Djokovic will take on Italian Jannik Sinner. If both Medvedev and Djokovic prevail in their respective matches to reach Sunday’s final, it will be a repeat of the 2021 Australian Open final where Djokovic beat the Russian. The two also met in the 2021 US Open final where the Russian exacted revenge on the Serb.