Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev are set to face off at the Australian Open, with a spot in the final on the line.
Mats Wilander had good things to say about Zverev’s serve ahead of the meeting, which will be held at Rod Laver Arena.
This is Alcaraz’s first appearance in a semi-final at Melbourne Park, after getting past local favourite Alex de Minaur.
Zverev secured his place by beating Learner Tien and is now looking to take the lead in his head-to-head record against the ATP world number one.
Jim Courier highlights past missteps from Carlos Alcaraz in Alexander Zverev match-ups
Jim Courier has weighed in on a previous encounter between the two, pointing to tactical errors that may have cost Alcaraz in that match.
Speaking on Tennis Channel, he recalled: “These guys played in the quarter-finals here two years ago, and Zverev beat him. But really, Alcaraz helped him.
“Alcaraz kind of beat himself with some bad tactics on the court. He did not play to Sascha’s forehand in the biggest moments of the match. And Zverev was getting tight.
“He was not accelerating on that forehand, and for whatever reason Alcaraz kept attacking the backhand, played right into his hands. So if he gets the tactics right, Zverev is going to have to hit the forehand down the line big.
“That’s going to be the most important shot on the court for Zverev. If he can hit the forehand down the line, he can keep Alcaraz a little bit guessing.”
Zverev won that 2024 clash 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2-7), 6-4 but lost to Daniil Medvedev in the next round. The following year, he made it to the final but was beaten by Jannik Sinner.
Lindsay Davenport: will Alexander Zverev step out of his comfort zone against Carlos Alcaraz?
Courier’s fellow tennis great Lindsay Davenport has also weighed in on the upcoming match between Alcaraz and Zverev.
“I can’t wait to see how Zverev approaches this match,” she said.
“I mean, we talk about it all the time in the bigger matches, a lot of times he steps backwards, and he has to go out after this match. He almost has to red line his game, particularly on that forehand.
“Love the way he competed and served against Learner Tien. He needs a serve, but he also needs to be able to get ahead in some of the baseline exchanges.
“It’s not easy to do against Carlos, and fascinated to see if Zverev is willing to come out of his comfort zone to try and make that happen.”
Zverev hit 24 aces against Tien and will need a similarly strong performance with his serve if he is going to get past the world number one.
This match-up pits the top seed against the third seed, while second seed Sinner faces fourth seed Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final.
This is the first time since Roland-Garros 2019 that all four top seeds have made it through to the semi-finals of a Grand Slam event.
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