TURIN, Italy (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz leaned back, looked up, and in celebration fury was heard all around as the Spaniard secured a spot in the semifinals of the APT Finals in his tournament debut. A match against top-ranked Novak Djokovic is now set.
“Vamos, vamos,” Spanish for “Come on, come on,” Alcaraz shouted as he clenched his fists after beating Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 on Friday.
”It’s one of the most difficult challenges that I’m going to face, facing Novak in the ATP Finals, where he has won six times,” Alcaraz said.
“Novak is Novak. He is the best player in the world right now. He’s lost just six matches this year, he’s unbelievable.”
Alcaraz and Djokovic have played each other four times and won two each. Djokovic won their most recent encounter in the final in Cincinnati in August, while Alcaraz beat the Serb in the Wimbledon final.
“I’m going to play my best tennis and enjoy it the same way I did the past few matches,” Alcaraz said. “I’m excited to face Novak.”
The 20-year-old Alcaraz is the youngest ATP Finals semifinalist since Rafael Nadal in 2006.
Alcaraz missed last year’s tournament because of an abdominal injury, and he got off to a shaky start at the season-ending event for the year’s top eight players.
He lost his opening match to two-time champion Alexander Zverev before getting back on track with a straight-set win over Andrey Rublev.
That left him needing to beat Medvedev, who had already qualified for the semifinals, to advance. The Russian didn’t make it easy.
After wasting two break points in the third game of the second set, Alcaraz got the decisive break when Medvedev double-faulted to allow the Spaniard to serve for the match.
As Alcaraz advances, the top four players in the world have qualified for the semifinals. Medvedev will face Jannik Sinner.
In the final group match later Friday, Zverev will play Rublev. Neither player can advance.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Jessica Roberts serves up the latest in the world of tennis. With a love for the racket sport, she reports on tennis matches, player rankings, and Grand Slam events, ensuring readers stay informed about the tennis world.
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