Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev faced each other in the first semi-final of the ATP 500 in Beijing. The young Spanish champion confirmed his predictions of the day before and defeated the Russian ace in two sets, beating him for the third time this year after triumphs in the final of the Indian Wells Masters 1000 and in the semi-finals of the Wimbledon Championships.
The former world number 1 will be on the hunt for its fourth title in 2024 after the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the Indian Wells Masters 1000. The 21-year-old from Murcia has already improved on last year’s result, when he stopped in the semi-finals against Italian ace Jannik Sinner in the Chinese capital.
The first set was very balanced, with Medvedev who has recovered twice a break from disadvantage but failed to bring the set to the tiebreak. The 4-time Grand Slam champion raised his level in the second set and prevailed without too much effort, proving to have weapons that put the 2021 US Open champion in great difficulty.
A funny episode
Carlitos has collected 25 winners and only 14 unforced errors, while Daniil has committed 15 unforced errors against 17 winners. Alcaraz played very well near the net, where he scored 8 points out of 11 appearances. The feeling is that Carlos has found his best tennis again and is ready for a great season finale. Medvedev – on the other hand – played a good first set before dropping, also due to a leg problem. During the match between Alcaraz and Medvedev, fans witnessed a very funny episode between the two players. After being hit by a very violent forehand from the Spanish ace, the Russian champion had a very funny reaction.
Carlitos’ 2024 season is truly amazing. The new World No.1 faced a Top 5 player eight times this year, with an amazing record of seven wins and only one loss. His only loss was against Novak Djokovic in the final of the Paris Olympics. “I think we both started the match pretty well,” said Alcaraz after the match.
“It was a little bit unusual, with serve being broken many times in the first set. I broke his serve for 3-2 and then in the next game, I don’t know what happened to me. I probably lost focus a little bit, missed a few first serves that against Daniil on a hard court, is a really important weapon. You have to put good first serves in to put yourself in the position to attack.
I’m really happy that I didn’t lose my focus too long in the first set. I recovered it as soon as I got broken, and I’m really happy that at the end of the set I was able to play really good tennis in the return game and then serving at 6-5. I did a really good game. After that, once you are one set up, it’s a little bit easier, playing against Daniil with more confidence.”
The Spaniard played a great match: “Sometimes you think, ‘OK, it’s done’, but it’s not done. You have to keep fighting. You have to keep playing the same way that you were playing before and just forget about the opponent. You should focus on yourself and your tennis, so that’s what I tried to do. I was still playing the same way I had played until that point in the match. I didn’t lose the focus in that moment, so I’m really happy that I kept pushing.” The atmosphere of the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup was very good for the Spaniard, who found his best feelings after the bad results in the American tournaments.
Advice for the future
In a recent interview, top coach Patrick Mouratoglou gave Alcaraz some advice for the future: “He was exhausted in New York, mentally exhausted. I am not surprised that he is saying that he had so many thoughts and so many emotions that he couldn’t deal with. That is exactly the consequence of someone who is emotionally drained. If you are not fresh in the mind, it is more and more difficult to do it.
He’s very, very emotional. We’ve seen him cramp many times already. If you look at Roger, Rafa, and Novak, have you seen them cramp once in a match? All their careers? He cramped many times already, only at 20. He’s an emotional player. So I think that knowing that, in the future, they will have to think of a calendar where he has enough rest – mental rest, not physical rest. Mental rest. I think it is very important for his future.”
Oscar goes to… @DaniilMedwed
[wait for the slo mo 😆]#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/jtRcJEutwR
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 1, 2024
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