Australian Open 2026 LIVE updates: Champions Djokovic, Sinner in for a late-night epic as Albanese watches the action unfold at RLA

Zverev continues to threaten Alcaraz’s serve but the Spanish star held in that last game despite being forced to deuce yet again.

Zverev leads 3-2 and will serve next.

This is now the longest match of Zverev’s career beating the four hour, 41 minute classic against Jannik Sinner at the US Open in 2023.

It’s testament to the German star that he is powering away and not suffering cramps or similar woes despite the length of the match.

Alcaraz had two break point chances in that last Zverev service game but he couldn’t turn it into a winner.

Eventually, Zverev held serve in an almost 10-minute game.

Meanwhile, night session fans are milling around RLA as they wait for the chance to head into the stadium for Djokovic v Sinner.

That game was meant to be starting now, instead it could be an hour away, should this fifth set go into a tie-break.

It’s 3-1 to Zverev in the fifth set with Alcaraz to serve.

Zverev is up 2-1 and is right on top in this last set.

But Alcaraz is refusing to give up, even when Zverev just landed the perfect drop shot with no warning.

Alcaraz held serve to make it 2-1 in Zverev’s favour – you sense there is at least one more twist to come in this match, perhaps a few more than that.

Let’s go back to the turning point in this match for a moment.

It was midway through the third an ever-so-tight set, when Alcaraz’s two-set lead was compromised as he pulled up lame after stretching to a retrieve a ball.

As the match paused for Alcaraz to receive treatment, the big question was whether he was, in fact, injured or simply suffering from cramps on this humid day at Melbourne Park.

Zverev was clear in what he thought, as he remonstrated with the officials in his native German tongue.

“This is total nonsense,” he said. “What short of bullshit is this? He’s only got cramp. “It’s inconceivable, it’s unbelievable ... that can’t be deemed injury time.

And to top it off, Zverev imitated the greatest tennis tantrum-thrower of all time, John McEnroe, by telling the officials, “You can’t be serious!”

Zverev took control of that tie-break behind his powerful serve.

He won the tie-break for the fourth set and it’s two sets each.

This is the first five-set match on Rod Laver Arena this year and it is coming in a semi-final.

The positive for Alcaraz is that he’s starting to look better physically - the question is whether he can go the distance in this last set.

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