Michael Phelps and Ariarne Titmus recently expressed their amazement as Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic advanced to the 2026 Australian Open final after producing extraordinary tennis in their respective semifinal clashes.
The Serbian and Spanish stars had to fight hard against their opponents in nail-biting, five-set thrillers. World No. 1 Alcaraz competed in a five-hour, 27-minute classic match against Alexander Zverev on Friday evening at Rod Laver Arena. He won the first two sets.
However, the 22-year-old lost the next two sets after pulling up with what appeared to be a cramp in the second set. Showcasing his resilience, Alcaraz bounced back in the last set, defeating Zverev 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-7(4), 7-5 in the longest Australian Open semifinal match.
The 10-time Australian Open champion, Djokovic, overcame the two-time defending champion, Jannik Sinner, in an action-packed five-set battle 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. The 38-year-old Serb battled for four hours and nine minutes against the Italian to reach his 11th final in Melbourne.
Titmus, who was present at the Rod Laver Arena, expressed her astonishment over the matches by sharing a picture on her Instagram story.
“You just have to believe.”
The legendary swimmer, Phelps, was also left in awe after the dramatic contests. He wrote on his Instagram story:
“These guyss….”
Alcaraz and Djokovic will lock horns in the final on Sunday, February 1. The faceoff is scheduled at 19:30 local time.
Michael Phelps Opens Up About Clinching Silver Medal In Competitions
Michael Phelps is rightly regarded as the greatest swimmer of all time. He won 28 medals at the Olympic Games, which included 23 gold.
In a recent interview with Raj Shamani on his “Figuring Out” podcast, Phelps highlighted his approach towards winning silver and bronze medals, saying that only the first-place wins mattered, as finishing second or third meant losing.
“I don’t even know how many silver and bronze medals I have. Like I said, I don’t like to lose. Silver is losing, right? You got second place. You lost. Third place? You lost. It’s losing. I don’t talk about the other five. I medaled in 28 out of 30 of my races at the Olympic Games. 23 are the ones we need to talk about because in the others, I was unprepared. Somebody else was more prepared than me,” he said.
Phelps bagged three silver and two bronze medals at the Olympics.
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