AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2026 SEMI: CARLOS ALCARAZ SET TO FACE ALEXANDER ZVEREV FOR LAST FOUR
Carlos Alcaraz dominates Alex de Minaur to reach the AO 2026 semis. Can he beat Zverev and surpass Rafael Nadal’s historic record?
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Carlos Alcaraz powered into the Australian Open semi-finals for the first time on Tuesday, setting up a showdown with Alexander Zverev and moving one step closer to making tennis history.
Spain’s world No. 1 didn’t let the loud Melbourne crowd shake him. He brushed aside local favourite Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-2, 6-1 on Rod Laver Arena, barely breaking a sweat.
At 22, Alcaraz still hasn’t dropped a set all tournament. He looks locked in, chasing his first Australian Open trophy.
“I’m just really happy with how I’m playing. Every match, I feel my level going up,” he said, sending a clear message to everyone left in the draw.
“Today I felt really comfortable and played some great tennis I’m proud of,” Alcaraz added. Until now, he’d never made it past the quarter-finals in Australia—not in four tries.
The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam that’s eluded him. If he beats Zverev and goes on to win Sunday’s final, he’ll become the youngest man ever to win all four majors—beating his countryman, Rafael Nadal, who was 24 when he did it.
Alcaraz came out flying against de Minaur, the Australian sixth seed. De Minaur has reached the last eight at every Slam, but never further.
The first set was a wild ride. Alcaraz jumped to a 3-0 lead, but de Minaur clawed back to 3-3, and the crowd loved it. Alcaraz steadied himself, pushed ahead 5-3, then stumbled and got broken. At 5-5, Alcaraz turned up the pressure, grabbed the next two games, and took the set. De Minaur could only shake his head at missed chances.
After that, the Australian couldn’t keep up. Alcaraz took the second set in just 44 minutes, then kept rolling in the third. He shot out to a 3-0 lead in under 20 minutes and never looked back, finishing it off with his fifth ace.
Earlier, Germany’s third seed Zverev blasted 24 aces in a 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-6 (3) win over American Learner Tien to book his spot in the last four.
“I’ve seen him all tournament, and he’s playing great, aggressive tennis,” Alcaraz said about Zverev. “I have to be ready—not just me, but my whole team. We need to get our tactics right. It’s going to be a great fight.”
For Zverev, this is the first time in a year he’s come into a semi-final feeling healthy. Last year was rough—shoulder, back, and ankle problems—but now, at 28, he says he finally feels good.
“Being pain-free is the biggest change I’ve had in the last 12 months,” he said. “It wears you down, physically and mentally, when you can’t trust your body.”
He’s used his time feeling healthy to work on his game—getting more aggressive, sharpening his first shot after the serve, and even adding some serve-and-volley. “If those things click for me, I know success is coming.”
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
