Alcaraz beats Medvedev and reaches his 21st final

With a smile and a gesture to point out a hypothetical inscription on the shirt (who knows what it meant), Daniil Medvedev congratulated Carlos Alcaraz this Tuesday for his victory in the semifinals of the China Open. The Russian had no choice but to take a new defeat against the Spaniard with good grace. (7-5 and 6_3 in 87 minutes)and there are now six in eight matches, the last four consecutive. It is the effect that the winner of four Grand Slams has on his rivals, who do not see a way to surpass him, under normal conditions. Alcaraz played a great game to reach the 21st final of his careerfifth of the season (equal to Jannik Sinner and Casper Ruud) and first since he lost against Novak Djokovic at the Paris Olympic Games.

Carlos is the fourth Spaniard to reach the title match at the ATP 500 in Beijing, after Rafa Nadal (2005, 2013, 2015 and 2017), Tommy Robredo (2007) and David Ferrer (2010). On Wednesday (11:00, Movistar+) they will face Sinnerunless the Italian succumbs by surprise to the new local idol, Yunchaokete Bu in the clash that both will play this afternoon (from 1:00 p.m., M+).

“I started the match very well, but it was a bit unusual, with so many breaks. I would do mine and then the next game, I don’t know what happened to me, I probably lost concentration a little bit. Failed first serves, which are a very good weapon against Daniil on a hard courtto put yourself in a good serving position. Anyway, I’m very happy, because I recovered and had a good finish. At 6-5, to the rest, I was able to play my best tennis and play a good game. Later, with the score in our favor, it was easier to play with confidence,” analyzed Alcaraz, who is on a streak of eight consecutive victories. This is the tenth against a top-10 in 2024.

Accurate analysis

That was the story of a very colorful encounter in that crazy first round, with a couple of wonderful points from both of them, and something less brilliant in the second, because Medvedev ran out of gas and suffered some discomfort in his thigh. left that prevented him from fighting with greater options. “Sometimes you think it’s done and it’s not: you have to keep fighting and play like you were doing. And just forget about the opponent and focus on yourself, on your tennis. That’s what I tried to do. I didn’t lose focus and pushed him to the limit, making him run from side to side and, in the end, I broke and took the second set.” That was the tactic of the 21-year-old from Murcia to upset the 28-year-old Muscovite and number five in the world. Thanks to his richness and variety of blows, Carlos prevented him from entering the rhythm of exchanges that favors him.

Magnificent with his forehand, with which he added 15 of his 25 winners, Alcaraz committed 14 unforced errors, few considering the speed at which he played. To this he added good serve percentages and a very intelligent construction of the points, the one he has been wearing since the beginning of a tournament that he is in a position to win.

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