Carlos Alcaraz overcomes Daniil Medvedev and is the latest qualifier: stellar semifinals in Turin

Carlos Alcaraz overcomes Daniil Medvedev and è the è last qualifier: stellar semifinals in Turin

The most important match of day6 of the Nitto ATP Finals 2023 is played on Friday afternoon (likely to avoid the concurrence with the Italian National Team) and features Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev, who has already qualified. For the Spaniard è it is crucial to win and doing so in two sets would also guarantee him first place in the red group, effectively rendering this evening’s match between Zverev and Rublev useless. 

The Russian starts well by getting two break points very early, but Carlitos nullifies them with two great firsts and è him to extend shortly after, with a break to zero that brings him to 5-3.

Alcaraz has no problem winning the first set and continues to press on the accelerator, pushed also by a crowd virtually all for him, with many Spanish fans present in the stands. The world no°2’s arm goes very fast again (as evidenced by the 20 winners at the end of the match against his opponent’s 10), while honestly Medvedev does not seem so willing in chasing every ball. Carlitos did not take advantage of two break points in the third game, climbed from 15-30 down 4-3 and instead found the decisive break in the ninth game, imposing himself with a double 6-4 after one’hour and twenty minutes.

Thanks to this result, the pairings of the two semifinals are official. Alcaraz wins the red group and will challenge Djokovic (second in the green group), while the defeat è irrelevant for Medvedev in terms of qualification but costs him the first place in his grouping. The Russian finishes second behind the Spaniard and will challenge Jannik Sinner, winner of the green group. È only the fourth time since 1990 that the ATP Finals semifinals will feature all top four players in the rankings (before this year precisely in 1990, 2004 and 2020).

Giovanni Pelazzo