After Alexander Zverev outlasted Cameron Norrie in a fifth-set tiebreaker on Monday night at the Australian Open, Carlos Alcaraz and Miomir Kecmanovic were still battling for a quarterfinal spot alongside the German.
Zverev was asked about his two potential opponents.
“I’m obviously Kecmanovic’s No. 1 fan right now,” he joked.
Unfortunately for Zverev, Kecmanovic did not come through–not even close. Alcaraz destroyed the 60th-ranked Serb 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 to set up a Wednesday showdown against a familiar foe.
Of course, things might not be so bad for Zverev even though Kecmanovic won’t be on the side of the net. He actually leads the head-to-head series with Alcaraz 4-3. They faced each other twice last season on hard courts, first when Alcaraz took advantage of a fatigued opponent to cruise 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals. However, Zverev avenged that defeat by beating the Spaniard 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 at the Nitto ATP Finals.
When Zverev lost to Alcaraz in New York, he was coming off a four-hour and 41-minute thriller against Jannik Sinner two days earlier–a marathon that ended at 1:39 in the morning. Although the 26-year-old doesn’t have anything quite like that in his legs this time around, fatigue could once again be a factor. He has played two fifth-set tiebreakers in Melbourne, withstanding Slovakian qualifier Lukas Klein 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(10-7) in the second round before getting the best of Norrie 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(10-3) in the fourth round. Those two matches lasted a combined eight hours and 36 minutes.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, has mostly rolled. The 20-year-old was pushed to a fourth-set tiebreaker by Lorenzo Sonego in round two but followed that up with straight-set victories over Jerry Shang (via third-set retirement) and Kecmanovic. Alcaraz has been on the court for just two hours and 55 minutes over the last two rounds.
“If you play less you are fresher, but I feel okay,” Zverev said after triumphing over Norrie. “I’m not like (I was at the) U.S. Open, where I was completely dead and where I felt like I’m physically exhausted. I’m tired, for sure, because I played 7-6 in the fifth set again two times out of the last three matches. But I’m not dead. I’m not completely exhausted. I’m not in the same physical state I was in the U.S. Open.
“I expect it to be very different, to be honest.”
And it probably will be. Aside from when he is physically compromised, Zverev likes this matchup. Alcaraz can’t play as much non-stop offense as he can, for example, against Kecmanovic or other counter-punchers. As such, another entertaining contest should be in the cards. But as long as Alcaraz doesn’t get blown off the court quickly–and that’s unlikely–then he will probably have the upper hand in a long, physical struggle.
Pick: Alcaraz in 5
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