Carlos Alcaraz has given an update after sparking concern during a marathon five-hour, 27-minute semi-final win at the Australian Open. The world No. 1 looked in control when he led Alexander Zverev by two sets to love, but he suddenly pulled up on his leg at 4-4 in the third set. Alcaraz received treatment during a medical timeout, but it turned out that he had been cramping.

Last year’s runner-up, Zverev, won the next two sets and broke early in the fifth. But Alcaraz reeled off four straight games to win 6-4 7-6 6-7 6-7 7-5, reaching his first Aussie Open final by the skin of his teeth.

The six-time Major winner now has just under 48 hours to recover before he faces either Jannik Sinner or Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s final. And he’ll do everything he can to recover after such a physically demanding contest.

Asked how he felt after winning the longest semi-final in tournament history, Alcaraz replied: “Well, obviously I feel tired. You know, obviously, my body could be better, to be honest, but I think that’s normal after five hours and a half.

“So I just did whatever it takes just to try to be better, to feel better tomorrow. Ice bath, contract [sic]. I’m going to have treatment with the physio now, and we will see.

“Hopefully it’s not going to be nothing at all, but after five-hours-and-a-half match and that high level of physically, I think the muscles are going to be tight, and I just got to do whatever it takes to be as good as I can for the final.”

Alcaraz’s medical timeout also proved controversial. Zverev had a heated exchange with the supervisor while his opponent received treatment, believing Alcaraz was cramping. Players can only get three rounds of treatment during changeovers for cramps, and medical timeouts are for injuries only.

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Zverev twice said it was “bulls***” that the world No. 1 was allowed the full three minutes’ worth of treatment. But commentators weren’t sure whether the Spanish star was cramping or was genuinely injured at the time. And Alcaraz has now explained that he also didn’t know whether he was injured – and that it was the physio’s call.

“Well, I mean, it was really demanding, the match, but obviously when I just felt cramps before, and in the beginning, when it was on a specific just one muscle, so I didn’t think was cramp at all at the beginning,” he said.

“So I didn’t know exactly what it was, because I just go around to a forehand and then I started to feel it just in the right adductor, so that’s why I just called the physio, because it was just that moment, the rest of the legs, the left leg was good. I mean, not good, but decent.

“You know, and after that with all the stress that I didn’t know what’s going on, didn’t know if it’s going to be worse or not, you know, it came, it came everything after all.

“But, you know, in that moment I just talk to the physio. I said, okay, I just went to run to the forehand side, and I started to feel like the right adductor. He decided to take the medical timeout, and he did it. Then I just took, I think, the three on just the changeover, and that’s it. You know, once again, I just told what happens to the physio, and he decides to take medical.”