2024 Australian Open men’s semi-finalists set, but no Carlos Alcaraz

The final four are set in the men’s singles event at the 2024 Australian Open—and it’s not who everyone expected. Top seed Novak Djokovic has made his way to the semi-finals along with young gun Jannik Sinner and hard-court specialist Daniil Medvedev. However, thanks to a quarter-final upset, one big name is missing: Carlos Alcaraz. 

Zverev tips over wayward Alcaraz 

Heading into their quarter-final clash, Alexander Zverev was a heavy underdog with international betting sites against Carlos Alcaraz.  

Not only was Alcaraz the world number two, but he had also beaten world number six Zverev comfortably in their most recent Grand Slam meeting. While Alcaraz had sailed through his section of the draw for the loss of just one set, Zverev had twice gone to final set tiebreaks and barely survived. 

However, none of this mattered to the German on Wednesday evening in Melbourne. Zverev came out serving big and not missing, denying Alcaraz any chance of a break. The Spaniard was surprisingly flat, spraying forehands long and consistently netting backhands. Quickly, Zverev raced out to a 2-0 set lead with barely an hour on the clock. 

An inevitable Alcaraz comeback came in the nick of time, with the 20-year-old breaking Zverev for the first time at 5-2 down in the third. The second seed then tore through the remainder of the set to force a fourth. While a fairytale come back looked briefly on the cards, the damage was done and Zverev managed to close out the fourth set 6-4, booking his spot in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park. 

Two classic semi-finals await in men’s draw 

Despite Zverev’s upset of Alcaraz, two cracking semi-finals have been set in the men’s singles event at the 2024 Australian Open. 

First up is a repeat of the Nitto ATP Finals final, with Novak Djokovic taking on Jannik Sinner. The pair split four encounters 2-2 last season, with Sinner defeating Djokovic twice in the span of 10 days to end 2023. Djokovic is in his favourite hunting ground of Melbourne Park, while

Sinner is on the rise and yet to drop a set down under 

Next, Zverev will face off against a familiar foe in Daniil Medvedev. These two battled no less than six times in 2023, with Medvedev prevailing on five occasions. However, the Russian has looked a little off kilter this Australian Open, twice requiring a fifth set to prevail over lower ranked opponents.  

Both matches have the makings of instant classics, with the men’s semi-finals scheduled to be played on Friday afternoon and evening in Melbourne. 

Potential PR nightmare for the Australian Open 

The elephant in the room is that Zverev’s continued advancement poses a significant PR issue for the Australian Open. 

Zverev has had ongoing issues with the law since 2021, courtesy of domestic abuse allegations from two past girlfriends. In 2023, a German court fined him a penalty order of €450,000 due to the evidence against him. Last week, it came to light that Zverev is appealing the decision and will be due in court this May. 

The Australian Open have been actively trying to play down the situation, opting not to tweet about the German’s matches. However, with Zverev a semi-finalist—and possible finalist—the tournament’s headache has only increased.

A pair of brilliant semi-finals await at the Australian Open this Friday, despite Zverev defying Aussie bookmakers and eliminating Alcaraz. Tournament organisers will be secretly hoping Medvedev does what Alcaraz couldn’t, however, and takes care of their PR problem ahead of the weekend.