Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the last four of the ATP Finals on Wednesday after defeating Alexander Zverev 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, while Carlos Alcaraz cruised past troubled Andrey Rublev to kick-start his campaign. World number three Medvedev had to win in straight sets to claim a place in the semi-finals in Turin with a match to spare and he saw off huge German Zverev in a tight Red Group encounter. He faces Carlos Alcaraz, a 7-5, 6-2 winner earlier in the day, in his final match and has the world number two’s last four hopes in his hands.
“I hope I will feel good tomorrow and ready to fight because this tournament is tough,” Medvedev said.
“I’m in the semis but you want to keep the pace and against Carlos … if we’re playing at night, you don’t want to end 7-6 in the third (set) at midnight. I just hope I can show my best tennis .”
Medvedev has a long-standing rivalry with Zverev, the pair do not get off court, and he has now won five of their six matches this season.
One of those victories came en route to his surprise triumph at the clay-court Italian Open in May, one of five titles won by Medvedev this year.
The 2020 champion looks in fine form although Wednesday’s match is his 82nd this year and will cause major problems for whoever he faces in the next round.
Zverev, a two-time winner at the season-ending tournament, would have qualified from the Red Group with a win of either kind following Alcaraz’s earlier victory.
The 26-year-old hit more aces and winners than Medvedev but still ended up on the wrong side of the result after throwing away his service game to save the match.
Zverev can still get through it and in his final match will face a dejected Rublev, who is yet to win a set at the Pala Alpitour.
Alcaraz back on form
World number two Alcaraz has struggled with his form and fitness in recent months and looked at a possible early elimination after losing his first match with Zverev.
But he looked in much better shape on Wednesday and comfortably claimed his first win in the season-ending tournament, snapping a three-match losing streak to boot.
“I’m really happy to show this level and to realize that my level is still there, giving me a chance in this tournament,” Alcaraz told reporters.
“After this win, everything changed in my mind.”
The 20-year-old easily dealt with Russian Rublev, who once again failed to make his mark in a big match with one of tennis’ leading lights, and lost control of his emotions after giving away a service game at the start of the second set. .
Being one set and breakdown was too much for the 26-year-old, who then repeatedly smashed his racket into his left knee, drawing blood, and shortly afterwards gave in to his anger and immediately collapsed just as he did in his opening defeat to. longtime friend Medvedev.
Later Rublev dismissed the attack on his own member as “nothing” but then admitted he was struggling emotionally with what was a difficult end to the season.
On Thursday Jannik Sinner will try to become the first Italian to reach the semi-finals when he faces Holger Rune in the tight Green Group.
Straight wins over now-retired Stefanos Tsitsipas and Novak Djokovic may not be enough to secure a place in the next round.
And Sinner faces Rune who only had to play three games against Tsitsipas who dropped out due to injury.
Sinner, meanwhile, won on Tuesday in a three-hour thriller with Djokovic, who plays Tsitsipas’ replacement Hubert Hurkacz with his last fourth place also still in the balance.
(This story was not edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article