New Delhi, Jan. 30 -- Carlos Alcaraz admitted that he was "struggling" after the Spaniard survived a Alexander Zverev scare in a five-set thriller to march into his maiden Australian Open final on Friday at the Rod Laver Arena. Alcaraz, who fought a leg issue, delivered despite losing two sets to win 6-4, 7-6(7-5), 6-7(3-7), 6-7(4-7), 7-5 to keep his Australian Open dreams alive.

After winning the first two sets, Alcaraz experienced a leg issue during the third set, which the top set lost in a tiebreak. Alcaraz also took a medical time out (MTO), which frustrated Zverev. The German third seed was also caught venting his frustration out to a match official.

Despite his leg issue, Alcaraz relied on his sublime ball-striking and placement ...