Alcaraz never considered retiring as he overcomes cramp to reach final

VIDEO SHOWS: PRESS CONFERENCE BY CARLOS ALCARAZ AFTER AUSTRALIAN OPEN SEMI-FINAL WIN RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA (JANUARY 30, 2026) (TENNIS AUSTRALIA – See restrictions before use) 1. WORLD NUMBER ONE CARLOS ALCARAZ SITTING DOWN AHEAD OF PRESS CONFERENCE 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (English) TOP SEED CARLOS ALCARAZ ON IF HE CONSIDERED RETIRING FROM INJURY, SAYING:     "No, I saw the video, and I saw the people talking about it, but there wasn't a single second that I thought about retiring." 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CARLOS ALCARAZ CONTINUES ON IF HE CONSIDERED RETIRING FROM INJURY, SAYING:     "I just hate giving up, just how I would feel after all, I just don't want to… to feel that way." 6. WHITE FLASH 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CARLOS ALCARAZ CONTINUES ON IF HE CONSIDERED RETIRING FROM INJURY, SAYING:     "So that's why I just fight until the last ball, and I always believe that I can come back in every situation." 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CARLOS ALCARAZ ON WHAT HIS INJURY WAS, SAYING:     "I mean, it was really demanding, you know, the match, but obviously when I just felt cramps before, and you know, in the beginning when it was on a specific, just one, muscle. So I didn't think it was cramp."  10. WHITE FLASH 11. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CARLOS ALCARAZ CONTINUES ON WHAT HIS INJURY WAS, SAYING:     "But in that moment, I just talked to the physio. I said, OK, I just want to run to the forehand side. And I started to feel like the right adductor. So he decided to take the medical timeout, and then he did it. So then I just took the, I think, the three reminders in just the changeover, and that's it. So, once again, I just told what happened to the physio, and he decided to take medical." 12. WHITE FLASH 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) CARLOS ALCARAZ ON WHERE THIS MATCH RANKS IN HIS CAREER WINS, SAYING:     "This one was one of the most demanding matches that I have ever played in my career so far. I think physically we just pushed each other to the limit today. We pushed our bodies to the limit, which I think the level of the fifth set was really, really high, so I'm just really, really happy to get the win that I came back, and I just rank this one in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won." STORY:     Carlos Alcaraz described his five‑set win over Alexander Zverev on Friday (January 30) in the Australian Open semi-finals as one of the most demanding matches of his career, saying he never once thought of quitting even as crippling cramp threatened to stop him in his tracks.     The world number one looked to be cruising at two sets to love but began struggling to move at 4-4 in the third set as the cramp affected his right thigh, but he soldiered on to complete a 6-4 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-7(4) 7-5 win. Clocking five hours and 27 minutes, it was the longest semi-final at the Australian Open and just shy of the five hours and 29 minutes Alcaraz took to beat Jannik Sinner last year in the longest final at the French Open.     "I think this was one of the more demanding matches that I have played in my career so far," Alcaraz said after improving his record of never losing a match after winning the first two sets to 60-0.     "Physically we pushed each other to the limit … our bodies to the limit. The level of the fifth set was really high.     "So I'm just really happy to get the win, that I came back. I rank this in the top position of one of the best matches that I have ever won."     Fans were left holding their breath when it appeared like Alcaraz moved towards Zverev to shake his hand after the opening game of the fourth set and call it a day.     But Alcaraz said he did not think about quitting even for a single second despite his woes.     "I hate giving up," he declared.     "I just don't want to feel that way. There are some moments that it seems like, 'OK, I'm giving up' or 'I'm not fighting at all' which when I was young there were a lot of matches that I didn't want to fight anymore.     "Then I got mature … Just one second more of suffering, one second more of fighting is always worth it. So that's why I just fight until the last ball and always believe that I can come back in every situation." (Production: Joseph Andrews)

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