Alexander Zverev ended Carlos Alcaraz’s tournament after the German moved into the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals with a 7-6(5) 6-4 win in Turin.
The world number two was too strong in the big moments as he progressed to the last four in Turin having won all three matches this week.
Some big errors in big moments cost Alcaraz when it mattered most as he is now out of the Nitto ATP Finals.
Zverev will now face Taylor Fritz in tomorrow’s semi-finals.
Both players played some good tennis early on but it was Alcaraz who was tested more on his serve with the Spaniard struggling with consistency from the baseline.
It was once again the forehand which did the majority of the damage in the opening set as Zverev created six break points in his opening two return games.
However Alcaraz weathered the early storm with some good variety on the forehand and gained confidence as the set went on.
Good combinational play allowed Alcaraz to win some big points but the Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion failed to create a single break point in the set.
Before the inevitable tiebreak Zverev failed to create a seventh break points, which was a set point, and Alcaraz’s clutch serving forced a first set tiebreak.
Zverev controlled most of the tiebreak but needed to be wary of a lack of concentration with Alcaraz coming back into the set.
On his third set point of the set Zverev won an insane point as Alcaraz missed an easy shot with the German taking the 65 minute set.
The Spaniard was beside himself as he ferociously hit his racket onto the bag while Zverev was laughing at the change of ends.
It meant that Zverev had already qualified for the last four but wanted to make sure that he topped the group as he broke in the opening game of the second set.
Time was running out for Alcaraz with a straight sets defeat ensuring his elimination from the tournament.
Unlike the opening set Alcaraz was able to create break point opportunities but erratic forehand errors cost the Spaniard the set.
In the end a strong serving display from Zverev means that he is into the last four and will now play Taylor Fritz on Saturday.
After the match Zverev spoke about his rivalry with Alcaraz and the way he is playing so far, “He beat too many times this year in important matches, so I’m happy that I got this one,” Zverev told the ATP website.
“Obviously I feel like we have a pretty good rivalry with a great friendship as well, so it’s always nice to play against him… Just sharing the court with him. He’s a great guy and I’m looking forward to the next matches with him as well.
“It’s been three fantastic matches. I’m happy with being 3-0 in the group for sure, but I think now the semi-final is going to be very difficult. [Taylor] beat me the past few times at the Slams, so I’m looking forward to that match.”
As for Alcaraz the Spaniard will now end the season as the world number three despite winning two Grand Slam titles.
