Carlos Alcaraz produced an impressive performance against Andrey Rublev to keep his semi-final bid alive at the Nitto ATP Finals with a 7-5 6-2 victory.
Alcaraz produced a composed and consistent performance to keep his semi-finals bid alive in Turin as Rublev’s emotions once again got the best of him.
The Spaniard will now play Daniil Medvedev on Friday while Andrey Rublev is out of the tournament no matter what happens against Alexander Zverev.
The first set saw a fast tempo being created as both players displayed consistent power early on in the match.
Rublev’s forehand had accuracy and power in counter-attacking positions while Alcaraz was using depth and angles to test Rublev’s agility.
As the set went on, Alcaraz’s tactical and technical confidence increased as Rublev’s frustrations continued as there was no clear solution on return.
The first real test from the returner came in the ninth game as Alcaraz started to produce deeper returns in order to test Rublev’s defensive consistency.
A break point was created from the Wimbledon champion but Rublev’s backhand won the first battle in this match as he held for a 5-4 lead.
However Alcaraz’s patience and gradual returning pressure would pay off in the next return game as he continued to dictate play from the baseline with his backhand.
More impressive consistent returning saw Alcaraz gain the first break of the match as he had the opportunity to serve for the opening set.
This lead to more Rublev frustrations as Alcaraz closed out the opening set with ease.
If the ending to the opening set didn’t anger Rublev enough then the start of the second set definitely did as he was broken from 40-15 up as Alcaraz continued to do damage with the backhand return.
This lead to Rublev smashing his racket on his knee several times which resulted in bleeding as Alcaraz was in cruise control of the second after consolidating the break comfortably.
The Spaniard only went from strength-to-strength as the match went on as Alcaraz was continuing to produce world class points while Rublev was continuing to produce unforced errors.
After being denied the double break lead in the fifth game, Alcaraz remained persistent in his attacking intentions as the former world number one eventually sealed the second break of the set to take a 5-2 lead.
A comfortable afternoon’s work was secured in the next game as Alcaraz closed out victory to love to remain in contention for a place in the semi-finals.
In his final Group Stage match Alcaraz will play Daniil Medvedev on Friday while Rublev takes on Alexander Zverev.
