This first shock was expected since the draw of the table. It will take place. Respectively opposed to Karen Khachanov, 27th in the world, and Flavio Cobolli, 32nd, in the quarter-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Tokyo, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev imposed their law on Monday and will meet again on Tuesday in the semi-final. The Spaniard won in two sets (7-5, 6-2) and 1h36, while the Russian was a little faster, winning his game 6-2, 6-4 in 1h28.
For “Carlitos”, everything came down to a very tight first round. Without complexes, Khachanov was able to raise his level of play to resist for more than an hour in this inaugural act. Taking risks on the opponent’s seconds and relying more on his own second serve, the Russian was able to first break Alcaraz (from 3-2 to 3-3) and shake him up until leading 5-4. But building on what he had shown in the previous round and in the Laver Cup, the Murcian prodigy then stepped on the accelerator.
Alcaraz dazzling in sequences, Medvedev gains strength
Very aggressive at the start of the game, even if it meant making mistakes too often, the world number 3 was able to vary more by using his backhand slice into the opponent’s forehand. His changes of pace destabilized Khachanov who lost the last three games of the first set. From then on, Alcaraz took off and the Russian could only observe the damage. Led 2-1 in the second act, he won the last five games. His first break in this round at 2-2 validated on a school volley was a reflection of his ease and his domination at the end of the game.
Medvedev hasn’t been as impressive in form. How would it be anyway? It’s a question of style. But the Russian, recovering at the start of the tournament, is clearly gaining momentum. Not everything was as obvious as the score tends to show against Cobolli, but in his management of the important points, the world number 5 was extremely effective. His consistency from the baseline helped him make the difference early (break at 1-1) and he knew how to alternate by regularly taking the initiative, particularly along the line on both the backhand and the forehand.
After his break at the start of the second round (6-2, 1-0), the Russian made his task a little more complicated, seeing Cobolli get back in front (6-2, 2-3). Not helped by his opening percentage of 52%), he was able to save 10 of the 11 break points he faced, including one at 5-4 while serving for the match. With the victories that follow one another, Medvedev gains in confidence, but he will have to raise his level even more to annoy a very impactful Alcaraz at the moment.
Sinner on alternating current
Jannik Sinner will also be there. The world number one, however, was not imperial in his quarter-final played in the evening against Jiri Lehecka. Very clearly dominant during the first round, he stammered his tennis a little afterwards and he even had to save two set points in the tie-break of the second round when the Czech led 6 points to 4. But
If his serve held up rather well (it was not broken even once throughout the entire game), the Italian committed a high number of unforced errors by his standards. But he found the exit door before being really threatened. It is also the strength of the tenors to be able to get by even without producing their best tennis.
In any case, Jannik Sinner continues his winning streak. After his titles in Cincinnati then at the US Open, he has just won his first three matches in Tokyo to bring his number of matches won consecutively to 14. His last defeat? His quarter-final lost in Montreal against Andrey Rublev, whom he could also find in the half on Tuesday.
