ATP Beijing – Semi-final – Carlos Alcaraz in the final after his victory against Daniil Medvedev

The beautiful revival of Alcaraz continues in Beijing! In the semi-final, the Spaniard got the better of Daniil Medvedev in two sets (7-5, 6-3) to reach a first final in China. After a tight first set punctuated by five breaks, the Russian gradually let go, hampered by the aggressiveness of his opponent on the return and by a few glitches in his left thigh. Alcaraz will face defending champion Jannik Sinner or local surprise Yunchaokete Bu for the title.

It was one of the posters that observers had checked when the Beijing painting was announced. A semi-final between the seeds n°2 and 3, an eighth clash between Alcaraz and Medvedev, two of the best players in the world on hard court. Relaunched by a perfectly successful Laver Cup weekend, Alcaraz confirmed his revival in China, where Medvedev reached the last four despite less successful performances.

If the start of the match saw both men serving, the Murcian quickly raised his voice, especially on the return, to try to make the difference. From 2-2 to 4-4, Alcaraz managed the break twice, each time caught by a reactionary Medvedev, also capable of throwing himself at the slightest opportunity to advance in the court.

But the Russian could not count on his usual quality of service to stay up to date in the debates. Winner of only 47% of the points on his faceoffs in this set (53% in total), he conceded the break a third time, one time too many, at 5-5 – certainly not helped by the tape of the net – to release the sleeve immediately.

Author of 13 winning shots in this initial set (23 in the match, 19 unforced errors), Alcaraz forced Medvedev to play this match at the high pace that he can establish, leaving the threat of a burst at each shift of forehand.

Annoyed by the turn of events, Medvedev had to approach his quest to turn the tide with an additional, and ultimately crippling, handicap: a creaky left thigh. As in the first set, the Russian held until 2-2, before giving up a break which this time he was unable to recover. And in a final game in the form of a last stand, he saved the first 3 match points before finally letting go in just under 1h30.

Without trembling, Alcaraz offers in 2024 a 7th victory in 8 matches against members of the Top 5, as well as a first final in Beijing. Guaranteed to regain 2nd place in the world, he could end his week with the second hoped-for shock