Alexander Zverev defeated Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in Turin, eliminating him from the 2024 ATP Finals. Zverev secured top spot in the group with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win. He will face Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals. To confirm his elimination, Wimbledon and French Open winner Alcaraz, who only won one of his three group matches, had to wait for the outcome of the evening match between Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud.
If Ruud lost to the winless Russian in a single set, he would be eliminated. The Norwegian earned a spot in the four-round by winning the opening set on the way to a 6-4 5-7 6-2 triumph. In the knockout stage, home favourite and top seed Jannik Sinner will take against Ruud, who was seeded sixth in Turin. Zverev, however, has won all three of his group matches in straight sets without having his serve broken.
It was making him the man to defeat in Italy. When asked if he is playing the best tennis of his life, the 27-year-old played it down. Against Carlos Alcaraz, who has battled a chest ailment throughout the tournament and once again donned a pink nasal strip to help with his breathing, Zverev maintained his strong play. Zverev converted the third set after Alcaraz, who appeared to still be suffering from the illness.
Carlos Alcaraz falling victim to his hype
Carlos Alcaraz showed some tenacity by saving seven break points in the opening set. However, he could not make a comeback. After losing their round-robin match at the ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz used his news conference to address Alexander Zverev directly. The Spaniard said that the German had won too much. After defeating Alcaraz in the ATP Finals group stage for the second consecutive year. He now leads the Spaniard 6-5 in the ATP head-to-head series.
He had a message for the German. “I’m happy to hear it because I left the court thinking about the opposite thing, that in difficult moments I’m not showing the best tennis. Thank you, Sascha. But I feel like, for example, today, yeah, the tiebreak I played really good points when I was 5-2 down.”
