Alexander Zverev gets angry over Carlos Alcaraz getting MTO at Australian Open; German pleads with folded hands; watch

Third seed Alexander Zverev looked visibly upset after Carlos Alcaraz was given a medical timeout (MTO), what the German thought it to be cramps and not injury during their high-voltage Australian Open 2026 men's singles semifinal at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday.

The incident took place during the 10th game of the third set after Alcaraz won the first two sets 6-4, 7-6(7-5). It was at when the scores were level at 4-4, that Alcaraz felt his quadriceps after missing a backhand. He started crouching down and held serve for 5-4 before taking a MTO at sit-down.

This angered Zverev who went to one of the match officials and vented his frustrated out in his native language. Although it was impossible transcribe Zverev's words by this website, but he did utter the word "bullshit" a couple of times during his outburst.

The video of Zverev's outburst went viral on social media. Some of the users even transcribed Zverev's words which read, “It's unbelievable that he gets treated for cramps. This is bullshit. Carlos Alcaraz can’t take an MTO for cramps. He’s not injured.”

While Zverev pleaded with the match official, Alcaraz looked relaxed as he got himself treated.