Probably the finest clash of this Australian Open is bound to be Carlos Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev in the quarter-final. The match will take place on Wednesday i.e. 24th January 9:15 pm local time at the Rod Laver Arena. The fiery contest will be broadcast by ESPN and Tennis Channel in the US and Eurosport in the UK.
Zverev interestingly started his 2024 Majors journey with a loss in the first set against Dominik Koepfer. He roared back in the next three sets, winning the game 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-3. His second-round match against Lukas Klein was a tough contest, with the Slovak tennis star nearly winning it in the fourth set.
In the end, Zverev pulled off a win by 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-7). He followed it with a win against Alex Michelson, knocking the American out in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2. His toughest battle, one that had a see-saw contest, was against Cameron Norrie, who was riding high upon his victory over World No. 11 Casper Ruud. Zverev won the match by 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (10-3).
Alcaraz, conversely, barely let any game go to the fourth set, winning 3 out of his 4 matches in straight sets. He first beat Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round. His toughest match of the lot, and the only match that went to the fourth set, was against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. Sonego won the second set 7-6 (7-3) but lost all the others by 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5).
Alcaraz was easily on his way to beating Shang Jungcheng 6-1, 6-1, 1-0 when the Chinese tennis player had to bow out due to injury. His upper right thigh was strapped, he received treatment and Alcaraz won the match by walkover. In his last game, Alcaraz decimated his opponent Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-0.
Both Alcaraz, Rank #2, and Zverev, Rank #6, are within the Top 10 rankings of ATP currently. Alcaraz is also one of three quarter-finalists in the AO to have previously won a Grand Slam title. He did so when he won the Wimbledon last year, beating the Serbian GOAT Novak Djokovic. Zverev’s biggest shining moment was at the US Open 2020 when he reached the finals losing to Dominic Thiem 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (8-6).
In all fairness, the predicted winner between the two lies in who can beat Novak Djokovic on the big stage. And given that Alcaraz has already done that, The Sports Rush predicts the World No. 2 Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz to beat Alexander Zverv in the quarter-finals in 4 sets.
Besides the French Open semi-final last year and his 20th ATP win at the Hamburg European Open, Zverev doesn’t have much to show from 2023. He has a host of losses at the Indian Wells, Wimbledon, Monte-Carlo Masters, Davis Cup, etc.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, is only rising to his supreme peak at just 20 years of age. Besides Wimbledon, he also won the Argentina Open, Rio Open, Madrid Open, and many more. He stands as the firm favorite, all the while looking dapper in his sleeveless Nike T-shirt.
Does Alexander Zverev stand any chance against Carlos Alcaraz?
Both Zverev and Alcaraz were expected to reach this stage of the tournament without much hiccups or upsets. While the Spaniard takes all the brownie points in their match-up, Zverev has one advantage going his way. Zverev leads Alcaraz 4-3 in their head-to-head count.
The German, though six years older, has had an upper leg over the 20-year-old, which started from the 2021 Mexican Open. Zverev won that tournament beating Tsitsipas in the final. He beat Alcaraz 6-3, 6-0 in their first-ever meet-up in the Round of 32.
The second time they met was at the 2021 Erste Bank Open semi-final, where Zverev crushed the young star 6-3, 6-3. Alcaraz took his first revenge at the ATP Madrid 1000 final, beating Zverev 6-3, 6-1. As the Spaniard showed slow signs of improvement, Zverev once again beat him at the 2022 Roland Garros quarter-final 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7).
Alcaraz repeated his ATP Masters 1000 Madrid win in 2023 over Zverev by 6-1, 6-2. He then added another win at the US Open quarter-final, his first Grand Slam win over the German. The score this time was 6-3, 6-2, 6-4. Zverev won the last battle between them at the Nitto ATP Finals by 6-7 (3-7), 6-3, 6-4.
Alcaraz has an 83% success rate in first serves, and Zverev has 76% in comparison. Due to the back-and-forth nature of their win-loss contest, a riveting contest awaits Wednesday.
