(Turin) Andrey Rublev felt such a level of frustration during his match against Carlos Alcaraz which ended 7-5, 6-2 in favor of the Spaniard at the ATP Finals on Wednesday that he hit himself repeatedly with his racket — so hard, in fact, that he lacerated his left knee.
Rublev had already smashed a racket on the ground during the first game of the second set. Then, when the Russian missed his shot to break Alcaraz, he started punishing himself as he walked towards his chair. Rublev then wiped the blood running down his leg with his towel.
The blood continued to flow as Rublev tried to get back into the match against the 20-year-old tennis player.
Alcaraz, the world’s second player who already has two Grand Slam titles to his credit, put an end to an unusual series of three defeats. He lost to Grigor Dimitrov in Shanghai, Roman Safiullin in Paris and Alexander Zverev in the curtain raiser in Turin.
Rublev was already assured of being excluded from the ATP Finals playoff picture after losing his first two matches of the preliminary phase. As for Alcaraz, he increased his chances of avoiding the ax in this end-of-season tournament which brings together the eight best players in the world.
Alcaraz will now face Daniil Medvedev, victorious 7-6 (7), 6-4 over Zverev on Wednesday.
“The key against Medvedev is to deliver a perfect match on a tactical level,” Alcaraz said.
Medvedev saved two set points in the first set.
“It was tough mentally,” said Medvedev, assured of participating in the semi-finals. I’m glad I was able to pull myself together. It was very close at the end of each set. »
The 2020 tournament champion, Medvedev has a career record of 11-7 against Zverev. That includes going 5-1 in 2023.
Local favorite Jannik Sinner dominates the Green group with two victories, including the one won against all odds against Serbian Novak Djokovic on Tuesday.
The first two tennis players from each of the two groups will advance to the semi-finals of the competition.
The first set was close between Rublev and Alcaraz, at least until the Spaniard broke to take a 6-5 lead. The Russian lost his composure on the first point of the next game after his shot was mistakenly called out of bounds, forcing him to replay the point. The decision was overturned after a video replay showed that the ball had hit the line.
Subsequently, in the second round, Alcaraz gradually increased the pace. He notably fired a winning crosscourt forehand when he was the victim of a nasty fall to the ground. The Spaniard also slammed a backhand winner down the line while running at high speed a few games later.
Alcaraz missed the ATP Finals last year due to an abdominal injury.
