Alcaraz, Medvedev, Zverev and Sinner all advance to China Open semi-finals

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to his 12th semi-final of the season on Monday, boosting his chances of finishing ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone for a second consecutive year.

When he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in the second round, the Spaniard became the first player this season to earn 60 tour-level wins, and he quickly moved to 61 with an aggressive performance against Ruud. The top seed rallied from a 0-3 deficit in the first set, hitting with too much power and intensity for Ruud, who had failed to win against Alcaraz in three previous attempts.

Alcaraz's victory sets up a meeting with Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.The 20-year-old is currently 635 points behind first-placed Novak Djokovic in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, but with the title, he can close the gap to 415 points.

"I am very happy," Alcaraz said. "To be able to beat a player like Casper in straight sets is really good. It means you are playing well. It is really tough, big rallies at the beggining of the match, but I am really happy with the level. Being able to find solutions after the start of the first set. These kind of matches give you extra confidence."

Alcaraz, who is vying for his seventh title of the season this week, is now 12-1 in quarter-finals in 2023. He hit 30 winners against Ruud and broke his opponent's serve four times to win in one hour and 45 minutes.

Sinner defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-4 3-6 6-2 to set up the blockbuster semi-final clash.

Sinner, who came back from a set down to beat the Spaniard in the Miami semi-finals earlier this year, will look to take a 4-3 lead in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the World No. 2.

After climbing to an equal-best No. 6 in the Pepperstone Live ATP Rankings this week, the 22-year-old Italian will jump to World No. 4 if he advances to the Beijing final.

Sinner, who said he wasn't feeling 100%, blew a chance to win in straight sets when he failed to convert eight break point opportunities in three games in the second set. He blew four break points while leading 0/40 at 3-all and then dropped serve himself after falling behind 0/40 in the next game.

Sinner won his 47th match of the year, matching his total from 2022. He is on track to surpass the 50-win mark for the first time, having previously reached 49 in 2021. He is fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and is the next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, which will be held from November 12 to November 19.

Medvedev is looking to claim his sixth title of the season

Earlier in the day, Daniil Medvedev won his 41st hard-court match of the season on Monday, overcoming a mid-match slump to defeat Ugo Humbert 6-4 3-6 6-1 at the China Open.

The second seed, who has the most hard-court victories on Tour in 2023, struggled to find his best form in the first two sets, misfiring from the baseline to give Frenchman Humbert a foothold. Medvedev increased his intensity in the third set, not making an unforced error and advancing after two hours and seven minutes.

Medvedev has now reached the semi-finals of ten of the 18 tour-level events he has competed in this year. When he faces Alexander Zverev, he will be attempting to reach his eighth title match.

Medvedev won hard-court titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, and Miami earlier this year. At the Beijing Olympic Green Tennis Center, the 27-year-old is aiming for his second title on Chinese soil and his third in Asia overall, having won in Tokyo in 2018 and the Rolex Shanghai Masters in 2019. He is making his professional debut in Beijing, where he has already defeated Tommy Paul and Alex de Minaur.

Zverev extended his winning streak to seven matches with a 6-1 6-7(5) 6-3 victory over Chilean Nicolas Jarry. The German, who won in Chengdu last week, hit 27 winners, including 13 aces, in two hours and 21 minutes to reach his 60th tour-level semi-final.

The German is currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin and will move up to fifth if he wins the title in Beijing. Zverev has won 15 of his last 17 matches, dating back to his semifinal appearance in Cincinnati in August. If he keeps up his current form, he should be able to compete in the Nitto ATP Finals, a trophy he has won twice.

SportsLigue