World No.3 Alexander Zverev has exploded at the chair umpire during his Australian Open semi-final clash against Carlos Alcaraz.
Zverev lost the first two sets and had one foot out the door when the match turned on its head late in the third set.
Alcaraz was serving at 4-4 in the third set when he dramatically cramped up at 15-15.
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Zverev, who earlier copped a time violation, fumed at chair umpire Marijana Veljovic for not beginning the serve clock.
“Why are you not starting the clock for 15 seconds?” He could be heard asking.
“I have to see if he’s OK,” Veljovic replied.
Zverev added: “He’s cramping.”
But Veljovic just said she “can’t know that.”
Despite the obvious issue, Alcaraz was still able to hold serve before more controversy erupted at the change of ends.
Alcaraz was assessed by a physio and surprisingly allowed to take a medical timeout.
Players are normally not allowed to take medical timeouts for cramps, but Alcaraz was given a three-minute break that gave him some important recovery time.
Zverev could be seen fuming at the decision as he argued with an official and said “f***ing bulls***” to his box.
“This is such a travesty. This is not an injury. This is a cramp. They’ve totally botched this. That’s why Zverev is melting down,” Jim Courier said on Nine.
Despite the dramatic situation, Zverev won the third set and then the fourth to force a deciding fifth set.
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