ATP Finals: Carlos Alcaraz eases to win as ranting Andrey Rublev self-destructs while Daniil Medvedev reaches final four
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz got back on track at the ATP Finals with victory over a tormented Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, easing to a 7-5 6-2 to revive his hopes in Red Group.
World number two Alcaraz suffered an opening round-robin defeat by Alexander Zverev, but responded with a confident display, albeit against an unravelling Russian.
Rublev managed to hang on in the first set but wavered at 5-5 when he dropped his serve – Alcaraz then claiming the opening set with a comfortable hold.
Things deteriorated rapidly for Rublev when he dropped serve at the start of the second set. He slammed down his racket after handing Alcaraz a break point and when he then blazed a shot wide, he repeatedly smashed his racket into his leg.
The Turin crowd gasped and an emotional Rublev had to wipe blood off his knee during the changeover.
Alcaraz took complete control after that with Rublev seemingly playing against the Spaniard and himself. The contest reached its predictable conclusion in little more than an hour.
Later on Wednesday, Germany’s Zverev can guarantee a semi-final place if he beats Daniil Medvedev with both players looking to follow-up their opening victories.
The 20-year-old Alcaraz’s form has tailed off after his Wimbledon triumph in July against Novak Djokovic and he was on a three-match losing streak when he walked on court on Wednesday.
But he was delighted with his response from Monday’s setback as he claimed his first win at the season-ender, having missed the tournament last year because of injury.
“It was a totally different match and level from me. This is the level I have to play if I want to give myself a chance in this amazing tournament,” Alcaraz said.
“[Tuesday] was a good day for me in practice to find the level I needed to show [on Wednesday] and I think I did pretty well.”
Alcaraz will play Medvedev, the player who beat him in the US Open semi-finals, on Friday.
Medvedev reaches last four with straight sets win over Zverev
Daniil Medvedev reached his third ATP Finals semi-final by beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets in Turin.
The 18th ATP meeting between the pair was a tight encounter as Medvedev came from behind in a first-set tie-breaker to snatch victory before edging ahead in the second to secure his spot in the final four with a 7-6(7) 6-4 success.
A thrilling start to the opening set saw Medvedev break in the first game before clinching the second, but Zverev held his serve to pull one back in the third and managed to break in the sixth to tie 3-3.
The score went back-and-forth before Medvedev held in the 12th to force a tie-breaker and the drama continued as the world number three came from 1-4 down to save two set points, going on to win 7-6(7).
Aiming to continue the momentum in the second, he took the opening game before Zverev served up two aces to tie and both players held serve in another tightly-contested set.
The set looked destined to boil down to another tie-break as Medvedev held in the ninth but managed to break in the following game to earn his spot in the semi-finals.
