Before Carlos Alcaraz dug deep to defeat Alexander Zverev in more than five hours in the Australian Open semifinals on Friday, the German took umbrage at what he felt was a bending of the rule of tennis in the world No. 1's favor.
The drama began in the third set, with just over two hours on the match clock. Alcaraz had previously vomited twice in the third set, and at 4-4 while already up two sets, winced after hitting a volley and his movement became compromised. Alcaraz pushed the limits of the permissible 25 seconds between points but did not receive a time violation from chair umpire Marijana Veljovic. After holding for a 5-4 lead, he received medical attention for what appeared to be an upper-leg injury and cramp, before Veljovic announced to the fans that Alcaraz would be receiving a medical timeout.
“He has cramps. What else should it be? This is absolute b---," Zverev ranted to Grand Slam supervisor Andreas Egli of Switzerland, in a mixture of English and German. "That is unbelievable. That can not be. You can not be serious,"
Players are not permitted by the rules of tennis to receive a medical timeout for cramping. But they can be treated for cramps at three changeovers maximum, each of which last for 60 seconds. However, even if a player appears to be suffering from cramps, they can be treated for a simultaneously muscle injury, which Alcaraz later said he was concerned about.
Read more: Carlos Alcaraz battles into first Australian Open final with marathon win over Zverev