India, Jan. 31 -- Carlos Alcaraz's 2026 Australian Open semifinal victory against Alexander Zverev saw a medical timeout controversy in the third set. The timeout left Zverev fuming at the decision, and he ended up dropping an X-rated rant at the match supervisor Andreas Egli. Players are not allowed to take a medical timeout for muscle cramping.

After the match, Alcaraz defended himself, stating that he didn't know if he was cramping or had suffered an injury when the timeout was called.

"In the beginning when it was on a specific muscle, I didn't think it was cramp at all," 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 j...