Jannik Sinner created a surprise on Tuesday by defeating world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 in the semi-final of the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing, and will meet Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Sinner, 4th player in the world, and Alcaraz went blow for blow in a first set of crazy intensity.
While the Spaniard – the big favorite in the absence of Novak Djokovic – initially took the lead by breaking twice (2-0 then 3-2), the Italian fought to resume, each time in the stride, the service of his opponent.
Sinner then dictated the game in the tie-break by raising his strike force another notch to win the first set after 1 hour 11 minutes of battle thanks to a forehand missile in return of service (7 -6).
In the second round, the 22-year-old Italian achieved the entry break, before accelerating and suffocating the 20-year-old Spanish nugget who buckled under his opponent’s thrusts.
“In the second set, I lost my concentration,” Alcaraz explained to the press. “I complained a lot, and it’s really hard to play your best tennis when you’re complaining or angry with yourself,” he added.
With the double break in hand, Sinner finished off the reigning Wimbledon champion in a surprisingly one-sided second set, after 1 hour 54 minutes of play, while Alcaraz had not lost a set in the tournament until this half. -final.
The Italian, nicknamed the “fox” in reference to his red hair, thus gleans his fourth victory in seven meetings against the young Spaniard, and the second in a row after that in March in the semi-final of the master 1000 in Miami.
“There are a few points that can completely change the dynamic of a match,” said Sinner, particularly referring to the start of the second set. He was then serving at 2-1 but found himself trailing 0-40 before brushing aside Alcaraz’s break points and winning his service game, taking the lead for good.
“Today I managed to impose myself in these moments, which obviously helped me in the following games to stay mentally very calm and play with a lot of confidence,” he continued.
The matches between the two players are often spectacular, like the thriller of 5:15 a.m. during the 2022 United States Open, won by the Spaniard in the New York night.
Sinner will meet Medvedev in the final on Wednesday, world number 3 and winner earlier in the day of Zverev (6-4, 6-3).
In this face-to-face, the Russian has the advantage with six meetings won in as many matches.
2023-10-03 15:00:00
#ATP #Jannik #Sinner #surprises #Alcaraz #joins #Medvedev #final
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/EKDFHLAGOZCCVMJD6VR3SV3YFA.jpg?fit=300%2C300&ssl=1)
