Carlos Alcaraz reaches first grand slam semifinal after marathon, late-night finish against Jannik Sinner
The first round of the 2018 Australian Open began with the first grand slam semifinal in Melbourne. And it didn’t disappoint as Jannik Sinner took down the world’s top player—Carlos Alcaraz.
With the clock ticking on the end of one of the longest matches you’ll ever see, Sinner fought desperately throughout to end the match by the fifth set. But when he managed to hold serve, and Alcaraz had to save the set, it was over.
After four years, this became the longest grand slam semifinal ever at a women’s tournament, and Sinner was the first player in the world to take down Alcaraz in a grand slam final.
Carlos Alcaraz is just a few hours into a flight home to Spain when we put the video to him. He’s the reigning French Open champion, and is looking forward to a busy 2017.
Carlos was on the top of the world for the past eight months. After winning Roland Garros in 2016, he went on to claim the Wimbledon title and become the first Spaniard to defend the French Open and Wimbledon.
And now here he is, down on earth and on the other side of the world from his fans, after winning a grand slam semifinal in a marathon match. It’s a fitting end to a match that was an epic story of both of them, and one that will never be forgotten by anyone who has watched tennis for even half of the last decade.
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We catch up with Carlos after his triumph with some time to reflect.
“Today was about winning,” Carlos said. “My plan was to find a plan B, plan C, or plan D, but today was about winning.”
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates his victory (Courtesy: Tennis Channel)
“It was an exhausting match and it’s a very tough match. In tennis, every point is against the clock, so you have to fight to the very last minute, and I have to say,
