Carlos Alcaraz has reignited his chances of reaching the knockout stages of the ATP Finals in Turin following a straight sets win over Andrey Rublev.
The third seed battled his way to a 6-3, 7-6(8), victory which has earned him his 12th win over a top 10 player this season at the Inalpi Arena. Only Jannik Sinner has beaten more top 10 players (14) than Alcaraz this year. The victory is sweet revenge for Alcaraz who was lost to Rublev earlier this year at the Madrid Masters.
In his latest match, the Spaniard produced 31 winners against 20 unforced errors and won 78% of his service points.
In recent days, there were concerns over Alcaraz’s current fitness after he was struck down with a stomach illness. On Tuesday his coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, told reporters that the four-time Grand Slam champion has experienced breathing issues and it would be ‘difficult for him to be 100%.’
“I surprised myself by the way that I played today from the baseline,” said Alcaraz who is still recovering from illness.
“I just tried to be focused on my game, on what I have to do and forget about that I’m not feeling well, I’m sick, and all that stuff.
“Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything. I think I did it pretty well.”
Alcaraz looked much more comfortable on the court compared to two days ago when he lost to Casper Ruud. The third seed piled pressure on an erratic Rublev whose unforced errors cost him dearly in the first set. At 3-3, back-to-back mistakes from the Russian handed Alcaraz a break point which he converted by hitting a blistering forehand winner. Two games later, he bounced back from a 0-30 deficit to seal a 6-3 lead with the help of a wild forehand from his rival that landed beyond the baseline.
A determined Rublev managed to bounce back in the second set with the help of an impressive run of 18 points won behind his serve. Meanwhile, Alcaraz continued to weather the storm and eventually regained the upper hand early in what was a tense tiebreaker after a Rublev backhand error handed him a mini-break. However, he lost that advantage at 5-3 after hitting a double fault. The rollercoaster continued with Alcaraz then saving two set points, as well as failing to convert his first match point. Eventually, he sealed the victory on his second match point opportunity with a winning return.
“I feel like my last matches I couldn’t hit a good drop shot and I was thinking, ‘what’s going on?” He said.
“My game, It’s about playing these kind of shots.
“I felt pretty good from the baseline running. I had many options on my mind if I didn’t feel well….moving and running and playing from the baseline.
“But I’m really happy that option A, just running and playing, I made that happen.”
Immediately after his win, Alcaraz wrote the word ‘Valencia’ on the camera lens in tribute to those who have been affected by flooding in the region. According to officials, more than 200 people have been killed. More poor weather has been forecasted for Spain.
As a result of Alcaraz’s win, Ruud could seal his place in the semi-finals later today. However, to do so the Norweigan must defeat Alexander Zverev in straight sets. Zverev will be the player Alcaraz faces in his final group match on Friday.
