Daniil Medvedev secured a spot in the semi-finals by defeating Alexander Zverev from Germany, while Carlos Alcaraz from Spain regained his momentum at the ATP Finals by triumphing over a distressed Andrey Rublev.
Zverev has been victorious in the championship on two occasions, in 2018 and 2021. However, he is now at risk of not qualifying for the semi-finals and will surely regret his mistakes against Medvedev. He had a 4-1 lead in the first set tiebreak but failed to make a crucial volley. Later, he had a chance to win the set but unfortunately hit a faulty forehand into the net, giving Medvedev a chance to escape.
In 2020, Medvedev, who was the champion in London, managed to win the first set after Zverev missed another high backhand volley.
At the world ranking of number 7, Zverev had an opportunity to break serve at 4-4 in the second set, but he missed with a poorly hit backhand. In the following game, Medvedev took advantage and broke Zverev’s serve, ultimately winning the match. This brings Medvedev’s total wins against Zverev to 11 out of 18 meetings.
Alcaraz comfortably secured a 7-5, 6-2 victory, boosting his chances in the Red Group following his initial loss to Zverev.
The 20-year-old player must defeat Medvedev in the last group match on Friday, even though the Russian has already secured a spot in the next round with a 7-6 (7), 6-4 victory over Zverev. Zverev’s final group game will be against Rublev.
There has been inquiry surrounding Alcaraz’s performance following a decline since his Wimbledon victory. However, he bounced back from a three-game losing streak with a strong showing, although it was against a struggling Russian opponent.
Rublev held on in the first set, but faltered at 5-5 when he lost his serve. Alcaraz then easily won the first set with a solid hold.
Rublev’s situation took a sharp decline when he lost his serve at the beginning of the second set. He angrily threw his racket down after giving Alcaraz an opportunity to score and proceeded to hit his leg with it when he missed a shot. The audience in Turin was shocked and Rublev, visibly emotional, had to clean blood off his knee during the break.
After that, Alcaraz dominated the match while Rublev appeared to struggle against both the Spaniard and himself. The outcome of the competition was easily determined in just over an hour.
“It was a completely different game and standard for me. This is the level I must perform at if I hope to have a chance in this incredible tournament,” Alcaraz stated following his first victory at the event, as he was unable to compete last year due to injury.
I had a successful practice yesterday, which helped me find the necessary level to perform well today. Overall, I think I did a good job.
