Back in business! Alcaraz sinks Rublev at Nitto ATP Finals

  • Posted: Nov 13, 2024

After a rocky start to his Nitto ATP Finals, Carlos Alcaraz is up and running in Turin.

The Spaniard eased past Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(8) on Wednesday afternoon at Inalpi Arena in an impressive response to his chastening opening defeat to Casper Ruud. Alcaraz, who struggled with a stomach issue against Ruud, was back to his physical, energetic best in his 96-minute win against Rublev.

“I surprised myself,” said Alcaraz, when asked about his performance despite feeling under the weather. “The way that I played today from the baseline, with my serve. I was really calm. I just tried to be focused on my game and what I had to do and forget about that I’m not feeling well and that I’m sick.

“Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything, your struggles outside the court, and you try to put your focus on hitting a good forehand, a good backhand, and making good tactics against the opponent. I thought I did that pretty well, and surprised myself.”

Sporting a pink nasal strip to aid his breathing, Alcaraz took control of Wednesday’s encounter by reeling off four consecutive games from 2-3 in the first set. He was assisted in that sequence by some wayward ballstriking from Rublev, who regained his composure to compete well in a second set featuring no break points but was nonetheless unable to deny Alcaraz a straight-sets victory.

The Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz kept his cool in the second-set tie-break, saving set points at 5/6 and 7/8 before closing out victory to take a 2-1 lead in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Rublev. The Spaniard’s previous victory against the World No. 8 also came in a Nitto ATP Finals group-stage encounter, at the 2023 edition of the prestigious season finale.

<iframe title=”2024 Nitto ATP Finals Quiz” src=”https://www.riddle.com/embed/a/aECeCWu6?lazyImages=false&staticHeight=false” allow=”autoplay” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin”>

Who has won the most Nitto ATP Finals titles?

  • Roger Federer
  • Pete Sampras
  • Novak Djokovic

True or False: Top seed Jannik Sinner is trying to become the first Italian singles champion in Nitto ATP Finals history.

  • True
  • False

The season finale is currently held in Turin. In which city was the event held before moving to Italy?

  • London
  • Shanghai
  • Sydney

Which player competing in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals has won the tournament the most times?

  • Daniil Medvedev
  • Alexander Zverev
  • Jannik Sinner

After which doubles players are the round-robin doubles groups named?

  • Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde
  • Peter Fleming and John McEnroe
  • Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan

One player in Turin this year has competed in six consecutive editions of the Nitto ATP Finals. Who is it?

  • Alexander Zverev
  • Andrey Rublev
  • Daniil Medvedev

Which player is making his Nitto ATP Finals debut?

  • Casper Ruud
  • Taylor Fritz
  • Alex de Minaur

ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours have already been clinched. To whom did the award go?

  • Jannik Sinner
  • Carlos Alcaraz
  • Alexander Zverev

Even when up against one of the ATP Tour’s most powerful baseline hitters, Alcaraz’s ability to win points from all corners of the court stood out. He struck 31 winners to Rublev’s 14, a tally which included plenty of trademark drop shots and scintillating forehand passes from deep.

“I feel like in the last matches I couldn’t hit good drop shots, and I was thinking, ‘What’s going on?’,” said Alcaraz. “My style, my game, it’s about playing these kinds of shots and enjoying the game. So I tried to do it today. I felt pretty good from the baseline too, running.

“I had many options on my mind. If I move well, run well from the baseline, I have more options. I’m really happy that ‘Option A’ of just running and playing good points from the baseline, I made it happen.”

Alcaraz was also dominant on serve en route to rejuvenating his bid for a fifth tour-level title of 2024. He did not face a break point and won 84 per cent (37/44) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Next up for the 21-year-old as he chases a Turin semi-final spot for the second consecutive year is a clash against Alexander Zverev on Friday. As well as potentially deciding who advances to the Nitto ATP Finals knockout stage, that clash could also be crucial in the battle to finish the year as World No. 2. Zverev is currently second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 505 points clear of third-placed Alcaraz.

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