Rising Star Carlos Alcaraz Upsets Daniil Medvedev, Advances to Semi-Finals to Face Novak Djokovic

Carlos Alcaraz emerged victorious against Daniil Medvedev to finish on top of his ATP Finals group, paving the way for a highly anticipated semi-final encounter with Novak Djokovic.

Wimbledon champion Alcaraz secured a 6-4 6-4 win against Russian player Medvedev, who had already guaranteed his place in the tournament’s last four in Turin.

“Obviously Novak is Novak, he’s the best player in the world right now,” said the Spaniard as he expressed his eagerness to face Djokovic.

Medvedev, a previous ATP Finals victor in 2020, is set to encounter the Green Group winner and local Italian favorite Jannik Sinner.

The world’s top-ranked player, Djokovic, ensured his spot in the semi-final thanks to Sinner’s victory over Holger Rune.

“It’s one of the most difficult challenges that I’m going to face, facing Novak in this tournament that he has won six times,” Alcaraz shared with Amazon Prime Video. “I’m going to put my best tennis [out there] and I’m going to enjoy it. I’m excited.”

Starting the ATP Finals with a defeated opening match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz made a strong comeback with a convincing win over third-seeded Medvedev.

The 20-year-old made a critical break at 3-3 in the first set, then secured another crucial break at 4-4 in the second before sealing the victory with a straightforward serve.

Zverev beats Rublev in dead rubber

Later on Friday, Zverev concluded his season with an impressive 6-4 6-4 victory over Andrey Rublev.

Despite sharing a 2-1 win-lose record with Alcaraz and Medvedev in the round-robin group stage, Zverev finished third and missed out on a place in the semi-finals due to his inferior sets-won record.

In the meantime, Briton Neal Skupski and his Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof were eliminated from the doubles event after their final match ended in defeat.

The pair, winners of nine titles in two years together – including Wimbledon in July, lost 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to Rohann Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.

Defending champions Joe Salisbury of Great Britain and the United States’ Rajeev Ram secured a semi-final spot after beating Australian duo Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata 5-7 6-1 10-2 to top the doubles Red Group.