01/30/26 08:55:00
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01/30 08:41 CST Alcaraz and Djokovic to meet in Australian Open final after
epic semifinal wins
Alcaraz and Djokovic to meet in Australian Open final after epic semifinal wins
By JOHN PYE
AP Sports Writer
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) --- Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will meet in
the Australian Open final after each came through epic, momentum-swinging,
five-set semifinals on Friday.
Top-ranked Alcaraz fended off No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-7
(4), 7-5 in a match that started in the warmth of the afternoon and, 5 hours
and 27 minutes later, became the longest semifinal ever at the Australian Open.
That pushed the start of Djokovic's match against defending champion Jannik
Sinner back a couple of hours and the 24-time major winner finally finished off
a 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win just after 1:30 a.m.
Djokovic is into his 11th Australian Open final after ending his streak of
semifinal exits at four consecutive majors. Alcaraz is into his first title
match at Melbourne Park, and aiming to be the youngest man ever to complete a
career Grand Slam.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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