Alexander Zverev holds back Carlos Alcaraz, sets Daniil Medvedev semifinal in Melbourne

Big-serving Alexander Zverev was nearly unplayable for most of Wednesday evening inside Rod Laver Arena, and then had to weather a herculean comeback effort from No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz to reach the Australian Open semifinals.

The No. 6 seed barely put a foot wrong in the first two sets against Alcaraz, his first serve firing at 88 percent and leaving the Spaniard with very few chances to work his way into the match. But when nerves struck as he was serving for the win in the third set, Alcaraz threatened to pull off the ultimate comeback as he escaped with the set in a tiebreak.

But the German righted the ship just in time, and sealed a statement 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4 victory in just over three hours.

The moment also marks Zverev’s first ever win over a Top 5 player at a Grand Slam, having lost all 10 of his previous matches—including three matches in Melbourne—against those players going into their highly anticipated quarterfinal.

WATCH: Daniil Medvedev defeats Hubert Hurkacz in Australian Open quarterfinals | Match Point

He’ll have the chance to double his count in the next round, where familiar foe No. 3 Daniil Medvedev awaits in the semifinals on Friday. Medvedev, a two-time Australian Open finalist, leads the head-to-head 11-7 against Zverev, including a straight sets victory in their most recent hardcourt meeting at last year's ATP Finals. It will be their first meeting at a major.

Zverev is competing at the Australian Open amid a cloud of controversy off the court, as he faces domestic abuse charges brought from a former partner back home in Germany with a criminal trial scheduled to start in May. The ATP Tour doesn't currently have a policy for domestic abuse, but Zverev has still been notably absent from the Australian Open’s social media marketing throughout the fortnight and his interactions with journalists inquiring about the topic have been fraught.

Either way, Zverev moved into his seventh Grand Slam semifinal and second at Australian Open after outlasting the world No. 2 under a barrage of 28 winners and seven aces. The 6’ 6” German saved three of the five break points he faced, and in turn broke Alcaraz seven times en route to victory.

More to follow...