Nick Kyrgios makes Carlos Alcaraz ‘human’ claim as he reacts to ‘insane’ Alexander Zverev win
Nick Kyrgios has declared that Carlos Alcaraz “looked human” at the 2024 Australian Open after he was upset by Alexander Zverev in a pulsating quarter-final.
The Australian described Zverev’s serving performance as “absurd” and applauded the German for overcoming “serious adversity” after failing to close out the match in the third set.
Zverev defeated world No 2 and two-time major winner Alcaraz 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 in three hours and five minutes in the last eight in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The world No 6 looked on course to complete a demolition of an out-of-sorts Alcaraz after delivering an imperious display to lead by two sets and 5-2 in the third set.
The 26-year-old was, though, broken for the first time in the match when he served for the win at 5-3, before Alcaraz produced a stunning sequence to clinch the set in a tiebreak.
Zverev, who landed an incredible 85% of his first serves in the contest, served out at the second opportunity after earning a crucial break at 4-4 in the fourth set.
Speaking on Eurosport, Kyrgios argued Zverev is well equipped to deal with Alcaraz’s game and suggested the Spaniard was not at his best at this event.
“Alcaraz was the favourite going into this match, but I’ve played Zverev about nine times and he’s a warrior. He’s got the game style to control when Alcaraz serves big,” the 28-year-old said.
“Those first two sets were something we haven’t seen from Alcaraz for a while. He looked human; he was making so many unforced errors. I’m still recovering from that third-set breaker. I was going absolutely crazy in this booth. It’s so hot in here, I’m sweating. I had to change my jumper.
“I was telling all my mates that Zverev had a chance to win. Alcaraz looked human this tournament; he wasn’t unbelievable. Credit to Zverev. He took the scenic route to get here. He had a couple of five-setters. Somehow he pulled that out. It was insane. Crazy.”
The 2022 Wimbledon finalist hailed the performance Zverev produced up until he failed to close out the third set, but was more impressed by how he responded to Alcaraz increasing his level.
“It was some flawless tennis from [Zverev]. He finished the match with 85% first serve. Serving that big against a returner like Alcaraz is absurd. As a good server myself, I don’t think I’ve ever served 85%,” Kyrgios continued.
“Alcaraz was a bit edgy; he came out swinging and a bit too hard, spraying the ball all over the place. That was some clean tennis by Zverev.
“The third and fourth were more impressive because of the way Alcaraz came back and he was able to stay clear and keep his head down. He broke the first game of the fourth, got broken back. He had to deal with some serious adversity out there and somehow coming out with the win was insane.”
Zverev will face his rival Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals in Melbourne on Friday.
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