The final day of group play at the Nitto ATP Finals will determine who joins Daniil Medvedev in advancing out of the Red Group. The third seed, already through to the Turin semi-finals with a 2-0 record, will meet Carlos Alcaraz in the afternoon before Alexander Zverev takes on Andrey Rublev in the evening.

With Alcaraz able to seal his semi-final place with a win, Zverev will be rooting for Medvedev in the hopes that his own qualification hopes are still alive when he takes the court.

[2] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [3] Daniil Medvedev

Alcaraz earned his first career Nitto ATP Finals win by beating Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, improving to 1-1 in his Turin debut. Coupled with Medvedev’s straight-sets win against Zverev, that result put the Spaniard’s fate firmly in his own hands.

If Alcaraz can avenge his US Open semi-final defeat to Medvedev on Friday, the 20-year-old will join the third seed in the knockout rounds. 

“I will have to approach it differently,” Alcaraz said of his mentality and tactics, referring back to their New York meeting. “Medvedev is one of the best players in the world… You have to play very well tactically, be patient and aggressive at the same time. It’s very difficult to beat him. You have to wait for the opportunity, but run and be calm, and get five or six shots in per point until the chance comes, while being aware that often it won’t.”

Alcaraz has beaten Medvedev twice this season — in the Indian Wells final and the Wimbledon semis — but their Lexus ATP Head2Head record stands at 2-2. While Medvedev is already through to the semis, he is eager to edge ahead in the budding rivalry to build his momentum ahead of the weekend.

“I’m going to try my best to play Carlos,” said Medvedev, who will be playing for significant Pepperstone ATP Rankings points and prize money. “The moment you relax and say to yourself, ‘Maybe this match I can go easier,’ you can lose all the rhythm. That’s how tennis is.”

While Medvedev has steadily shown a high level in Turin, Alcaraz did not find his best tennis until his second match, after an opening loss to Zverev. Medvedev noticed the Spaniard’s improvement and is expecting more of the same in their matchup. But there is one key factor that could play to his advantage at the Pala Alpitour.

“Here [on the fast court], there is an opportunity,” Medvedev said. “You can serve aces against him like Sascha did. So I need to play fast. I need to make winners before he does it.”

While this matchup between one of the steadiest players on the ATP Tour and one of the game’s most electric stars promises an intriguing juxtaposition of styles, Medvedvev’s comments suggest he won’t be content to grind away from the baseline for too long.

[5] Andrey Rublev vs. [7] Alexander Zverev (GER)

Alexander Zverev has won the Nitto ATP Finals twice, in 2018 and 2021. On both of those occasions, he lost his second round-robin match before bouncing back to claim the crown.

“That obviously gives me hope,” said the German, who enters Friday’s play at 1-1. But his hopes are also resting on Medvedev’s ability to defeat Alcaraz, and Zverev said he will be the third seed’s “No. 1 fan” on Friday.

When he takes the court himself, he’ll strive to play at a similar level to his Wednesday showing against Medvedev — but with better poise in the clutch moments. 

“It’s frustrating because I think the tennis that I played maybe deserved more than losing in straight sets in a way,” he said after the pair’s sixth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting of the season. The German was in a strong position in both sets of a 7-6(7), 6-4 loss, but made crucial errors late in each frame as Medvedev surged.

Rublev has also endured a frustrating campaign following his semi-final run last year in Turin. But the fifth seed is assured of finishing the season at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of World No. 5 based on other results at the event. Now he has a chance to finish his season on a high note against Zverev.

While the German leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 5-3, Rublev has won their past three meetings — all this season, in Dubai, Bastad and Vienna.

High Stakes In Koolhof/Skupski vs. Bopanna/Ebden Matchup

Second seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will face third seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden in what essentially amounts to a quarter-final, with the victor set to progress to the semis along with group-winners Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.

Ram/Salisbury have made the perfect start to their Turin title defence and have clinched first place in the Red Group with their 2-0 record. They will meet Aussies (and Australian Open champions) Rinky Hijikata and Jason Kubler on Friday evening.

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos maintained their perfect start at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph against Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni on Thursday in Turin.

The Spanish-Argentine pair Granollers and Zeballos notched a break in each set to wrap an 84-minute win and ensure they will finish at the top of Red Group with a 3-0 record. They will now prepare for their third Nitto ATP Finals semi-final as a team, having also reached that stage in 2020 (in London) and 2021 (in Turin).

The win also kept alive Granollers and Zeballos’ hopes of clinching the Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone honour for the first time. The pair is currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, but can jump to a first-place finish by lifting the Nitto ATP Finals trophy for the first time as a team.

Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin advanced from Red Group in second position after they saved a match point before downing top seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 3-6, 15-13 earlier on Thursday.

If a long tried-and-tested approach does not seem to be working, do you stick with it, or twist?

That could have been the dilemma for Daniil Medvedev earlier this year after he fell to consecutive heavy defeats against Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells and at Wimbledon, respectively. Medvedev struggled to counter Alcaraz’s top-class net play and use of drop shots in both matches, leading to suggestions that he may need to alter his trademark deep return position in order to beat the Spaniard.

Yet Medvedev is not one to question his own game, which has helped him earn 20 tour-level titles and made him a No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. He ignored any external calls to stand further forward to counter Alcaraz’s serve-and-volley charges, and he was vindicated in style at the US Open semi-finals in September, when he ousted the Spaniard across four sets in New York.

“That was a great feeling, because for sure before the match, especially against someone like Carlos, everyone on the internet was saying, ‘He has no chance if he doesn’t change his position’,” Medvedev told ATPTour.com. “You always have a chance. It’s just that against some types of players, maybe you’re going to be a little bit more vulnerable.”

Medvedev is 2-0 at this week’s Nitto ATP Finals after defeating Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev in Turin. On Friday, he plays Alcaraz in his final match in Red Group, the pair’s fifth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The World No. 3 will hope the result echoes their most recent clash in New York, as opposed to their two opening encounters of 2023.

Medvedev won just five games against Alcaraz across two sets in the Indian Wells final in March, and nine games across three sets in the pair’s Wimbledon semi-final. While those results were disappointing, they were also learning experiences for Medvedev, who felt that the spacious environment of Arthur Ashe Stadium might also help him as he prepared for the US Open clash.

“Before the match, I was like, ‘Okay, I see what he’s doing’,” said Medvedev. “I think maybe on this court at the US Open, maybe I’m going to be okay returning from far and I’m going to be able to put him in trouble.

“If I saw that was not the case during the match, I might have had to change it, but at Wimbledon I tried to change my position on the return, and it didn’t work at all. Especially on grass, it’s tough to change things up during the match. At the US Open I straightaway felt like, ‘Wow, I feel like I can do something from this position. I can put him in trouble’.”

Although he has not made any significant change to his routine on return, it does not mean Medvedev is not open to new ideas. As coach Gilles Cervara revealed to ATPTour.com at the US Open, the pair looked at a return position closer to the baseline when they first started working together, although it ultimately proved a no-go.

“For sure there were some moments when we tried to work on different things,” recalled Medvedev. “Sometimes I can be against it. I don’t remember exactly, but usually what happens is at the beginning, I’m like, “Yeah, whatever. Why are we doing this?’ But then I try to do it well, so it’s good work anyway. Then the question is, do I do it in the match or not?”

Besides, Medvedev does adopt opponent-dependent changes to his return position, even if they are not obvious to the untrained eye.

“I think people can see that there are some matches where I go a little bit closer to the baseline, depending on the conditions,” he said. “There are some conditions where you’re going to break a guy maybe only one or two times in a three-set match.

“I don’t care if I return close to the baseline and I always get one or two points because of it, but then I miss the other three returns and he always wins the game at 40/30. I prefer to maybe lose three games at 40/0, where he’s going to do serve and volley or something. But then there is going to be this one game where he’s going to get a little tight, I’m going to get one or two returns, and I break.

“So it’s always this constant thinking, ‘How should I do it?’ Sometimes after the match, I can think, ‘I should have done it differently’, when I lose. You never know if it’s going to work, but I do change sometimes. Sometimes [my changes] are bigger, so maybe people can notice, sometimes not.”

Of course, whether or not to adjust a game plan for a specific opponent is not a dilemma unique to Medvedev. In fact, his return position makes the World No. 3 himself a particularly tricky proposition to prepare for, something he believes helped him this year become champion in Miami for the first time.

“I remember in Indian Wells, Alcaraz beat me quite easily doing a lot of drop shots,” recalled Medvedev. “Then in Miami the next week, everyone against me was trying to do a lot of drop shots, but they don’t do it the same. So I was just running there and hitting winners.”

Noticed anything different about Jannik Sinner’s serve lately?

The Italian introduced a new service motion midway through the season and he hasn’t looked back, running up incredible service numbers captured by TDI Insights data.

His serve has underpinned his first two victories at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he won 89 per cent of points on his first serve in a 6-4, 6-4 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, and then 79 per cent of first serves against arguably the game’s greatest-ever returner, Novak Djokovic, in a three-set thriller.

“He retooled the serve with Darren [Cahill] and that’s something very, very difficult to do,” former World No. 4 Greg Rusedski told ATPTour.com this week.

“I’ve been super impressed; the whole team has done a fantastic job with him. And it all started with making a change to the serve, the body, transitioning, adding slice and adding things. They’re still not 100 per cent natural, but they’re only going to get better with time because he’s one of those guys who is going to put in the work.”

The graphic below illustrates the change in Sinner’s motion in the second half of the year.

Sinner has made significant adjustments to his stance and preparation technique. In the first half of the year, he used a foot-back or platform stance, where the back foot remained in its starting position until take-off. However, he has now transitioned to a foot-up or pinpoint stance. In this stance, the initial foot placement is typically wider, and then the back foot moves up alongside the front foot before the player drives off the ground.

In addition to the stance change, Sinner also modified his preparation technique. Previously, he had an exaggerated dissociation of ball placement and racquet arm, where his right arm would lag further behind the ball placement path created by the racquet hand, giving the look of a spiral. However, Sinner has now adopted a more classical off-side lift. This technique involves a smoother and more circular motion of the racquet, positioned in front of the shoulder line, resulting in reduced delay between ball placement and racquet lift.

ATPTour.com Brain Game analysist Craig O’Shannessy says, “Having watched his first two matches at the Nitto ATP Finals, you can see that he’s simplified the motion. So at the start, he gets into his ready position and basically just drops. So there’s not a lot of wind up. There’s not a lot of things that need to happen.

“He’s serving particularly well out wide in the Ad court. So that was where he won a bunch of points against Novak in big moments . So he’s got the height and he’s got the simplicity now. He’s gone back and forth between bringing his foot up and keeping it back. But now he’s found the right rhythm and I think this is the service motion to stick with.”

TDI Insights data reveal just how important the service changes have been. On first serve, his shot quality has surged from 7.8 to 8.2 and serve effectiveness has climbed from 61.6 per cent to 64.9 per cent (graphic below). The Insights data also show that he is making contact with the ball at a greater height (2.88m vs. 2.85m).

The data also reveal that Sinner is going for bigger serves when down break point, which has resulted in him saving 75 per cent of break points versus 66 per cent before the change. And, perhaps most important, he is winning 89 per cent of service games, up from 84 per cent.

With his rock-solid serve now the foundation of his broader success, Rusedski says that Sinner is set to climb even higher next season.

“He got himself in better shape because he’s gotten a little bit leaner. He’s willing to add in a slice once in a while, transition forward. It’s just a mindset,” Rusedski said. “There’s no real weakness on each side. And I think the more comfortable he gets with transitioning forward with the firepower he has from the back that his shot selection has improved.

“I think you put him in the mix now as one of the guys who you think is next to win a Slam. If you take one player who in 2024, you think has got a real shot to make a final or win one, his name is number one on the list right now.”

But 2024 must wait just a little longer. Sinner’s is laser focused on leveraging his serve to push towards capturing the Nitto ATP Finals crown.

Learn more about TDI Insights data

Jannik Sinner qualified for the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday when Hubert Hurkacz won the second set of his match against Novak Djokovic. Sinner is the first Italian to reach the last four of the prestigious event.

Djokovic’s semi-final fate is now in Sinner’s hands. If the Italian defeats Holger Rune on Thursday evening, Djokovic will finish second in Green Group and move on. If Rune beats Sinner, the Dane will win the group and the home favourite will qualify second, eliminating Djokovic. The Serbian has not been ousted in Nitto ATP Finals group play since 2019.

This is 🫵 moment, Jannik 🇮🇹@janniksin becomes the first ITALIAN to advance to the semi-finals in the tournament’s 54-year history!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/0G7dUZf1IV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 16, 2023

In the Red Group, Daniil Medvedev has qualified, but it has not yet been determined if he will finish first or second in the group. Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev both have an opportunity to qualify, while Andrey Rublev has been eliminated from contention.

Singles Green Group qualification scenarios:

1) Regardless of score, if N. DJOKOVIC defeats H. HURKACZ and J. SINNER defeats H. RUNE, then J. SINNER wins the group and N. DJOKOVIC qualifies 2nd. 

2) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats H. HURKACZ in 3 sets and H. RUNE defeats J. SINNER in 2 sets, then H. RUNE wins the group and J. SINNER qualifies 2nd.

3) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats H. HURKACZ in 3 sets and H. RUNE defeats J. SINNER in 3 sets, then H. RUNE wins the group and J. SINNER qualifies 2nd.

Singles Red Group qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event’s group stage:

1) Regardless of score, if C. ALCARAZ defeats D. MEDVEDEV and A. RUBLEV defeats A. ZVEREV, then C. ALCARAZ wins the group and D. MEDVEDEV qualifies 2nd.

2) Regardless of score, if D. MEDVEDEV defeats C. ALCARAZ and A. RUBLEV defeats A. ZVEREV, then D. MEDVEDEV wins the group and C. ALCARAZ qualifies 2nd.

3) Regardless of score, if D. MEDVEDEV defeats C. ALCARAZ and A. ZVEREV defeats A. RUBLEV, then D. MEDVEDEV wins the group and A. ZVEREV qualifies 2nd.

4) If C. ALCARAZ defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 2 sets and A. ZVEREV defeats A. RUBLEV in 2 sets, then C. ALCARAZ wins the group and D. MEDVEDEV qualifies 2nd.

5) If C. ALCARAZ defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 2 sets and A. ZVEREV defeats A. RUBLEV in 3 sets, then C. ALCARAZ wins the group and D. MEDVEDEV qualifies 2nd.

6) If C. ALCARAZ defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 3 sets and A. ZVEREV defeats A. RUBLEV in 2 sets, then D. MEDVEDEV wins the group and C. ALCARAZ qualifies 2nd.

7) If C. ALCARAZ defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 3 sets and A. ZVEREV defeats A. RUBLEV in 3 sets, then D. MEDVEDEV wins the group and C. ALCARAZ qualifies 2nd.

See below for the doubles scenarios in the Green Group and Red Group leading into the final two days of round-robin action.

Doubles Green Group qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event’s group stage: 

1) Regardless of score, if S. GONZALEZ / E. ROGER-VASSELIN defeat I. DODIG / A. KRAJICEK and M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS defeat M. GONZALEZ / A. MOLTENI, then M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS win the group and S. GONZALEZ / E. ROGER-VASSELIN qualify 2nd.

2) Regardless of score, if S. GONZALEZ / E. ROGER-VASSELIN defeat I. DODIG / A. KRAJICEK and M. GONZALEZ / A. MOLTENI defeat M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS, then M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS win the group and S. GONZALEZ / E. ROGER-VASSELIN qualify 2nd.

Doubles Red Group qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event’s group stage:

1) Regardless of score, if W. KOOLHOF / N. SKUPSKI defeat R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN and R. RAM / J. SALISBURY defeat R. HIJIKATA / J. KUBLER, then R. RAM / J. SALISBURY win the group and W. KOOLHOF / N. SKUPSKI qualify 2nd.

2) Regardless of score, if W. KOOLHOF / N. SKUPSKI defeat R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN and R. HIJIKATA / J. KUBLER defeat R. RAM / J. SALISBURY, then R. RAM / J. SALISBURY win the group and W. KOOLHOF / N. SKUPSKI qualify 2nd.

3) Regardless of score, if R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN defeat W. KOOLHOF / N. SKUPSKI and R. RAM / J. SALISBURY defeat R. HIJIKATA / J. KUBLER, then R. RAM / J. SALISBURY win the group and R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN qualify 2nd.

4) Regardless of score, if R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN defeat W. KOOLHOF / N. SKUPSKI and R. HIJIKATA / J. KUBLER defeat R. RAM / J. SALISBURY, then R. RAM / J. SALISBURY win the group and R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN qualify 2nd.

Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin advanced to the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals on Thursday when they saved one match point to overcome Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 3-6, 15-13 in a Green Group qualification shootout thriller.

The fourth seeds finish the round-robin stage holding a 2-1 record and join Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (2-0) in the last four. Top seeds Dodig and Krajicek end Green Group play at 1-2 and are eliminated alongside Andres Molteni and Maximo Gonzalez (0-2).

In a tight match inside the Pala Alpitour, Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin lifted their level in the Match Tie-break. After failing to convert match point chances at 9/8, 10/9 and 11/10, they then saved one match point at 11/12, before eventually converting on their fifth match point to triumph after one hour and 40 minutes.

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin dropped to their knees after advancing before they returned to their feet to embrace those in their box.

Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin are making their first appearance at the year-end event as a team, with Gonzalez the third Mexican to qualify for the semi-finals in tournament history. The Mexican-French pair has lifted five tour-level trophies this year, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Miami and Paris.

Krajicek and Dodig were making their second appearance as a team at the year-end event, having fallen in the round-robin stage in 2022. They won five titles together in 2023, highlighted by Roland Garros.

The Green Group action climaxes on Thursday at the Nitto ATP Finals, with both qualification spots for the semi-finals still up for grabs.

Novak Djokovic will bid to bounce back from a defeat to Jannik Sinner, knowing a win against alternate Hubert Hurkacz would go a long way towards extending his Turin title defence beyond round-robin play. In the evening matchup, two of the ATP Tour’s brightest young stars in Jannik Sinner and Holger Rune will square off under the lights.

[1] Novak Djokovic (SER) vs. [9/Alt] Hubert Hurkacz (POL)

Djokovic was turned back by home favourite Sinner in a thrilling three-setter on Tuesday night, but the Serbian left the match proud of his efforts.

“It’s normal to lose some of the matches like this, but I have to be content with the fight, the fighting spirit,” he said after seeing his 19-match winning streak snapped. “I managed to make a comeback from a set down, a break down in the third set, playing in really challenging and difficult conditions on the court today. I’m proud of the fight that I put in. It just wasn’t enough for the win.”

The defending champion now faces a fight to advance out of the group stage. While his matchup with alternate Hurkacz is not technically a “must win”, Djokovic would put himself in prime position to return to the semi-finals by improving to 2-1 on the week — particularly if his victory is an emphatic one.

Hurkacz will enter this matchup with nothing to lose, entering for the final group match as a replacement for Stefanos Tsitsipas (back injury). But the Pole will still be playing for considerable Pepperstone ATP Rankings points and prize money as he seeks to finish his season with a win against the World No. 1.

The Pole reached the Rolex Paris Masters quarter-finals in his last appearance, bowing out after a three-set defeat to Grigor Dimitrov — whom Djokovic beat in the final.

While Djokovic faced a barrage of big serves against Sinner on Tuesday, his returning prowess may be put to an even tougher test against the power of Hurkacz, who is the runaway ace leader on the ATP Tour with 1,031 this season. Like Sinner, Hurkacz will be seeking his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Serbian.

[4] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. [8] Holger Rune (DEN)

After Sinner and Rune both battled Djokovic for three sets with contrasting results, the two young stars now meet each other in Turin. Sinner thrilled the Italian crowd with his 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-6(2) win against the World No. 1 and now has a chance to complete a perfect 3-0 group campaign.

The 22-year-old felt his growing maturity made the difference in enabling him to score his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Serbian.

“I feel that I’m a little bit more confident in certain moments in a match,” Sinner said of his performance in the clutch moments. “I think I was really brave and intelligent in important moments, especially the third set.”

Rune has also proven to be fearless when the pressure is highest, with the shining example his three-set victory against Djokovic in last year’s Rolex Paris Masters final. While Rune has been beaten by Djokovic twice in the past month — losing in three sets in Paris-Bercy and Turin — the Dane levelled at 1-1 this week in his Nitto ATP Finals debut when Tsitsipas retired early in their Tuesday tilt.

Rune is now bracing for a much longer battle against Sinner — and his home support — on Thursday.

“He can do whatever he wants on the court,” Rune said of the Italian, whom he has beaten in both of their previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings. “He can hit a great forehand, great backhand, great volley. Great movement, serve, everything. Obviously it’s more tough here in Italy to play him. That’s what it is. I’m just going to prepare.”

Win & In For Dodig/Krajicek, Gonzalez/Roger-Vasselin

The noon matchup that pits Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek against Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin will decide who joins fifth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semi-finals.

Granollers and Zeballos are confirmed as winners of the Green Group and will bid to complete a perfect 3-0 round-robin campaign against Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni.

Daniil Medvedev became the first man to qualify for the semi-finals this year in Turin with his Wednesday win against Alexander Zverev. The third seed has won all four sets he’s played at the Nitto ATP Finals in building a 2-0 group-stage record, and he’s eager to build on that success when he meets Carlos Alcaraz on Friday.

“I’m going to try my best to play Carlos,” Medvedev said, acknowledging the fact that his progress to the knockout rounds is already sealed. “The moment you relax and say to yourself, ‘Maybe this match I can go easier,’ you can lose all the rhythm. That’s how tennis is.”

Medvedev saw first-hand the value of maintaining winning momentum in his Turin meeting with Novak Djokovic last year. The Serbian was 2-0 entering that matchup and already through to the semis, just like Medvedev is now. But Djokovic did not give an inch in a three-set battle, ultimately winning a final-set tie-break before claiming his record-tying sixth Nitto ATP Finals crown two matches later.

“Novak last year against me, [it was] physically a very tough match.,” Medvedev said. “He could have said at one moment, ‘Whatever, I lose the match, I’m still first place.’ But he didn’t. I think it’s a great example for me to try to do just my best on Friday and try to win.”

While the result will not affect Medvedev’s progress to the semi-finals, it will be crucial for the fate of both Alcaraz and Zverev. Both players enter the final round of group play at 1-1, with Zverev set to meet Andrey Rublev to close his group campaign.

“On Friday, I’ll be the No. 1 Daniil Medvedev fan there is on the planet — for a change,” Zverev said with a smile, after a fifth defeat in six Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Medvedev this season.

Asked about Zverev’s comments, Medvedev understood his rival’s sentiment.

“That’s normal. He wants to go through,” he said. “For sure, if I beat Carlos, it’s going to be the best for him. So it’s normal. I would be the same. I can see him looking the match. If I miss going, ‘No, why did he miss!’ Same if I win points.”

So what will it take to secure the result both he and Zverev crave?

“I think against [Alcaraz] — especially the way he played today, better than two days ago — you have to be at your best,” Medvedev said, echoing comments he made before beating the Spaniard in the US Open semi-finals. “You have to serve well. Here [on the fast court], there is an opportunity… You can serve aces against him like Sascha did. So I need to play fast. I need to make winners before he does it.

“Today he was [playing] pretty well. It’s going to be a good continuation of a test. I beat two good opponents and I have another one in two days. I’m going to try to do my best.”

Editor’s Note: This article was translated from ATPTour.com/es

Although the 2023 ATP Tour season is yet to reach its conclusion, with the Nitto ATP Finals nearing their final rounds in Turin, Rafael Nadal already has his mind on 2024. After a return to training a few weeks ago, having not competed since the Australian Open and undergone an operation on his iliopsoas, the Spanish star has now confirmed that he will play again. He has been working tirelessly toward that goal in recent months.

“I’m well, training, and happy,” said the 22-time Grand Slam champion on Wednesday afternoon in Barcelona. “I’m at a good stage of my life. Until now I didn’t know if I would play tennis again someday, and now I genuinely believe I will. I’m still not ready to say when, but I’m able to train increasingly longer, and the progress is good,” he explained.

“We know that the pain will never disappear, but I’ve taken a step forward,” said the Spaniard. “That’s a lot for me. Talking about tennis is another matter altogether, as is the level I’ll be able to play at. But the steps toward trying to play again have been big and positive, which is what we have been fighting for for several months. I’m confident I’ll be able to say something more specific in the coming weeks.”

After picking up an injury at the Australian Open and then withdrawing from several tournaments, including Roland Garros, Nadal underwent an operation on 2 June in Barcelona and started his long recovery period, from which he is now starting to emerge.

“I’ve always maintained hope that I would play again,” said Nadal. “How much? At what level? It’s difficult to answer that. I never lost hope I’d play. Things gradually become clear with the passing of the weeks. At the moment I’m on the right track.”

Nadal, 37, said he has not set himself the loftiest goals, like playing in the Paris Olympics or going for Novak Djokovic’s Grand Slam record (24 compared to the Mallorcan’s 22). It is not about that; it is a case of a return that would represent the personal achievement of having recovered when there was no light at the end of the tunnel.

“I haven’t played for a year,” reiterated the Spaniard. “Personal success is often more rewarding than general success. The hope is that I’ll play again. You never know what will happen. My gut says it will be very difficult to get back to a good level of tennis. If I wasn’t hopeful of trying to be competitive, I wouldn’t be doing everything I’ve done over the past months at my age and after a long career,” he added.

“The years pass by. My hope is that I will play again, and that is hugely satisfying to me on a personal level. I won’t win more Grand Slams than Djokovic, but I will have the chance to enjoy myself again.”

An opportunity to see the Spaniard compete on a tennis court again seems to be drawing ever nearer.