Carlos Alcaraz beats Daniil Medvedev to enter the China Open final
Carlos Alcaraz has claimed a berth in another final of the season. The four-time Wimbledon champion registered a commanding victory over Daniil Medvedev to reach the finals at China Open. The Spaniard, who is playing in his 15th event of the year, is now set to face either of World No. 1 ranked Jannik Sinner or China’s Yunchaokete Bu in the ATP Tour final clash. The 21-year-old is now the third player to reach five tour-level finals this season, after World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud.
Carlos Alcaraz advances to China Open final, likely to face Jannik Sinner in the title clash
Carlos Alcaraz wrapped up the semi-final clash against Daniil Medvedev in 88 minutes. The match witnessed Medvedev venting his frustration on the camera. The first set between the top-ranked players witnessed Medvedev engaging in a long, thrilling rally. Carlos Alcaraz eventually, won the 2-3, 15-15 point. Despite displaying a hard-fought battle, Medvedev lost the first set 7-5 to Alcaraz in an entertaining duel on Diamond Court. However, within the match, both the players looked agitated at the technology complaining about the hawk eye verdicts.
“I think we both started the match pretty well,” said Alcaraz after extending his winning streak to eight tour-level matches. “It was a little bit unusual, with the serve being broken many times in the first set. I broke his serve [for 3-2] and then in the next game, I don’t know what happened to me. I probably lost focus a little bit, missed a few first serves against Daniil on a hard court, which is a really important weapon. You have to put good first serves in to put yourself in the position to attack,” Alcaraz noted on the win.
After a setback in the first set, Medvedev’s return in the game was further marred by injury concerns. The final set of the clash saw Medvedev fielding issues with his hip, for which he received some on-court treatment. The clash in the ATP 500 Beijing Tour put Alcaraz on a 6-2 head-to-head record against Medvedev. Moreover, the win was Alcaraz’s eighth consecutive win of the season. Playing across the Davis Cup and Laver Cup, the Spaniard hasn’t lost a match since the second-round exit from the US Open.
“I’m really happy that I didn’t lose my focus for too long in the first set. I recovered it as soon as I got broken, and I’m really happy that at the end of the set I was able to play really good tennis in the return game and then serving at 6-5. I played a really good game. After that, once you are one set up, it’s a little bit easier, playing against Daniil with more confidence,” the young gun further explained.
Now, Alcaraz is set to face either Jannik Sinner or home-favourite Yunchaokete Bu in the China Open final. Alcaraz is also moving swiftly in the race to pip Sinner as the No.1 ranked player in the ATP standings. For Sinner, the challenge seems like a steep hill with WADA appealing against the Italian player to the CAS for a two-year ban. The China Open final is scheduled to unfold on Wednesday, 2 October.
“Sometimes you think, ‘OK, it’s done’, but it’s not done. You have to keep fighting," reflected Alcaraz. "You have to keep playing the same way that you were playing before and just forget about the opponent. You should focus on yourself and your tennis, so that’s what I tried to do. I was still playing the same way I had played until that point in the match. I didn’t lose focus at that moment, so I’m really happy that I kept pushing," Alcaraz concluded.
