Alcaraz shrugs off illness to beat Rublev in Turin
Carlos Alcaraz overcomes illness to defeat Andrey Rublev 6-3 7-6 (10-8) at the ATP Tour Finals in Turin.
Carlos Alcaraz overcomes illness to defeat Andrey Rublev 6-3 7-6 (10-8) at the ATP Tour Finals in Turin.
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.”
DOMINANT CARLOS 💎
No. 3 seed @carlosalcaraz finds the strength within and keep his hopes alive of survival with a vital victory over Rublev! #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/2PIKTtRnir
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 13, 2024
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.
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.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Roger Federer is one of the most accomplished players in the history of tennis. It is no surprise the Swiss star made his mark on the Nitto ATP Finals, too.
The 103-time tour-level titlist claimed six of his trophies at the season finale, but that is not a record. Which tournament records does Federer own?
Federer has won more matches than anyone in event history
The six-time champion won more matches than anyone else in the history of the Nitto ATP Finals and it is not close.
Federer earned a 59-17 record in his 17 appearances. Only one other player — record seven-time champion Novak Djokovic — has earned more than 40 victories at the event. The Serbian has earned a 50-18 record.
Federer failed to make the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals just once in 17 appearances (2008). He also made four finals on top of his six championship triumphs.
<iframe title=”2024 Nitto ATP Finals Quiz” src=”https://www.riddle.com/embed/a/aECeCWu6?lazyImages=false&staticHeight=false” allow=”autoplay” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin”>
Most Match Wins – Nitto ATP Finals
| Player | Wins |
| 1) Roger Federer | 59 |
| 2) Novak Djokovic | 50 |
| 3) Ivan Lendl | 39 |
| 4) Boris Becker | 36 |
| 5) Pete Sampras | 35 |
Roger qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals 18 times
No player has qualified for the year-end championships more times than Federer, who earned his place at the tournament 18 times.
The Swiss first competed in the event in 2002 aged 21. That year, he reached the semi-finals before losing to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings and eventual champion Lleyton Hewitt in three sets.
Federer qualified for the final time in 2020, aged 39. Tied for second on the list of qualifications are Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with 17 each.
Most Nitto ATP Finals Qualifications
| Player | Qualifications |
| 1) Roger Federer | 18 |
| T2) Novak Djokovic | 17 |
| T2) Rafael Nadal | 17 |
| 4) Jimmy Connors | 16 |
| 5) Andre Agassi | 15 |
Great Britain will face Germany in the Billie Jean King Cup Finals in November – and you can watch it live on the BBC.
A severe weather alert in southern Spain leads to the opening tie of the Billie Jean King Cup between Spain and Poland being postponed.
Even hardcore fans who have been keeping a keen eye on every point of the Nitto ATP Finals action this week in Turin have never seen tennis like this…
At the 2024 edition of the prestigious season finale, some of the most memorable on-court moments produced by the ATP Tour’s finest stars in Turin will be presented to help attract a younger audience and create new tennis fans. Each day, a Nitto ATP Finals Immersive Highlight will showcase a great point using cutting edge AR technology, 3D modelling and live data, bringing ATP tennis into people’s lives in a new and innovative way.
Check out Ruud’s stunning lob below to experience tennis like never before!
[NEWSLETTER FORM]
Jannik Sinner’s quest to bookend his standout season with a Nitto ATP Finals trophy continued on Tuesday night in emphatic fashion.
The top seed dialled in to seal 6-4, 6-4 victory over Taylor Fritz in a pulsating clash at the season finale, moving him to 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group. After a fast start from Fritz, home favourite Sinner delivered an assured performance to the 12,000 fans cheering him on inside the Inalpi Arena.
“It was a very tough match, we got to know each other very well in a Grand Slam final,” said Sinner, who defeated Fritz in this year’s US Open championship match. “We knew exactly what to expect today, he was very aggressive and I was prepared.
“I just tried to serve very well in the important moments, which I did. That was a very crucial game in the second set, I was down 0/30. If he breaks me there, the momentum could change.”
FORZZZAAAA JANNIK 🌟🇮🇹🌟
World No. 1 @janniksin secures his second win at this year’s #NittoATPFinals, defeating Fritz 6-4 6-4!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/NcC7hryLjz
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 12, 2024
Unfazed by the daunting task that stood before him, Fritz put Sinner through his paces in the early stages of the contest. The 23-year-old, however, raised his game when required to register a one-hour, 40-minute triumph, improving to 3-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.
In a gutsy eighth game, Fritz dug deep to hold serve from 0/40, but was unable to fend off Sinner further. In the 10th game, Sinner came alive to convert his fourth break point, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and secure the opener. Sinner was helped, however, by the American, who fired 16 unforced errors to his opponent’s 11.
[ATP APP]In a battle between two of the Tour’s purest ballstrikers, Sinner showed signs of the blistering tennis that has propelled him to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. This was underpinned in the seventh game of the second set, when Sinner struck a stunning backhand winner en route to holding serve from 0/30, shifting the momentum firmly in his favour.
Chasing his Tour-leading eighth title of 2024, Sinner is returning to action in Turin following a month-long break from competitive tennis. The Italian, who finished runner-up at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals, now looks in strong contention to progress from the group, having not dropped a set.
View The Best Photos From Sinner’s ATP Year-End No. 1 Presented By PIF Honours Ceremony
Sinner will seek to extend his perfect 2-0 record in the Ilie Nastase Group when he takes on fourth seed Daniil Medvedev on Thursday. Fritz, who is 1-1, aims to secure a crucial win against Alex de Minaur in his bid to advance to the semi-finals for a second time (2022).
<img alt=”Fans cheer as Jannik Sinner defeats Taylor Fritz at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday. ” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/11/12/21/42/sinner-fans-natpf-tuesday-2024.jpg” />Fans cheer on as Jannik Sinner claims a second victory at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals. (Photo by Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour)
In a back-and-forth tussle with Alexander Zverev to end the year with the most wins, Sinner levelled the German with his Tour-leading 67th victory in 2024 and improved to 7-0 on indoor hard courts across the season.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The 2024 Nitto ATP Finals continue to close in on the knockout rounds with Wednesday’s action, as players in the John Newcombe Group take to the Inalpi Arena for their second round-robin matches.
Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev both seek their first wins of the week in a critical afternoon matchup, before Day 2 winners Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud battle it out in the evening for top spot in the group. The Day 4 doubles action will see top seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic face Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna, before Italians Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli play Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.
[ATP APP][3] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [8] Andrey Rublev
Alcaraz struggled with lingering effects of a stomach illness in his opening defeat to Ruud, but the round-robin format of the Nitto ATP Finals could provide the cure. Rather than being sent home with his opening defeat, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings has a chance to recover and advance to the knockout rounds in Turin.
“Given how I’ve felt, it’s difficult to think about the semis,” Alcaraz said on Monday. “The good thing in this sport is that your game can feel very bad one day and very good the next.”
Last year in his Turin debut, Alcaraz lost to Zverev in his opening match before rebounding to reach the semis. He began to turn his tournament around by beating Rublev in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.
“There have been many players who have lost the first match of the [Nitto] ATP Finals and ended up winning,” Alcaraz pointed out. “Now I want to take it day by day, to feel better, and see how the next match is. I’ll approach it as best I can. Let’s hope things turn out well.”
Rublev avenged his Turin defeat to Alcaraz by beating the Spaniard en route to winning the Madrid ATP Masters 1000 crown this season. Ironically, it was Rublev who was feeling sick in the buildup to that event.
“In the end I guess it forced me to play much more free, because the only way I could somehow win the matches was to play aggressive and try to run less,” Rublev recently told ATPTour.com, recapping his year.
Rublev never needs an excuse to play attacking tennis, but his experience against Alcaraz in Madrid could lead to a similarly all-out approach in Turin. In quick conditions at the Inalpi Arena, whoever can throw the first punch in the rallies could knock out his opponent in this heavyweight fight.
<img alt=”Alexander Zverev, Casper Ruud” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/11/12/19/42/zverev-ruud-turin-2024-h2h.jpg” />
[2] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. [6] Casper Ruud [NOR] While this will be their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting in Turin, Zverev and Ruud have played exclusively on the game’s biggest stages in their five previous encounters. After meeting at the ATP Masters 1000s in Cincinnati, Paris and Miami, they split a pair of Roland Garros semi-finals in 2023 and 2024. Zverev leads the series 3-2, including the win that sent him through to his first Roland Garros final this year.
Zverev did not face a break point in his opening Turin win against Rublev, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He also converted on both of his break opportunities in an efficient and commanding opening performance. More than any other competitor this year, the two-time Nitto ATP Finals champion knows the formula for success at the season finale.
“Against anyone here, you have to play your best to have a chance, you have to be solid [and] mentally strong,” he said after his opening win. “I feel like I did that today, I felt like I used my chances quite well and I’m obviously happy with this win.”
Ruud was even more pleased with his opening victory against Alcaraz, even accounting for the Spaniard’s off day.
“It’s only one match, but it’s definitely one of the best wins of the season for me,” he said. “I have not been [full of] confidence in the past weeks or months, so it was a great win for me and hopefully I can build on it, and I would like to get some more wins while I am in Turin.”
Both Zverev and Ruud will need to recalibrate their games after taking on aggressive opponents in their first match. While both players pack plenty of punch — particularly in Zverev’s serve and Ruud’s forehand — they are more content to bide their time in the rallies as they prod for an advantage.
The result of this chess match will determine who ends Wednesday in first place in the John Newcombe Group with a 2-0 record. While the winner will be in pole position to reach the knockout stage, the loser could face a must-win situation in his final round-robin match.
Doubles Action
Top seeds Arevalo and Pavic bid to bounce back from an opening defeat to Krawietz and Puetz on Day 4. The El Salvadoran/Croatian team, champions at Roland Garros and Cincinnati this year, will take on sixth seeds Bopanna and Ebden, who won the Australian Open and Miami in 2024. Neither team took a set in their opening match.
Home favourites Bolelli and Vavassori hope to continue the Italian success in Turin when they take on Krawietz and Puetz. Bolelli and Vavassori are bidding to match what the Germans did this year in Hamburg by winning a title on their own home soil.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]The atmosphere built to fever pitch levels at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday night, when fans made their way inside the Inalpi Arena to watch Italian star Jannik Sinner take to court in Turin.
The home favourite, who faces Taylor Fritz, is competing in Italy for the first time this season after missing Rome due to injury. Unsurprisingly Sinner’s fan club, The Carota Boys, were in the house to watch their guy.
“We are really excited because Jannik is playing in Italy for the first time this year. We are excited to see him with the Italian crowd,” said Carota Boy member Alessandro Dedominic, who has travelled around the world watching the Italian this year. “It is the year of Jannik, it is unbelievable. Two Grand Slam crowns, World No. 1. He has a good chance here because indoor conditions are good for him. I think he played really well in the first match and has a great chance to win the title.”
The Carota Boys have become famous in the tennis world for showing up at tournaments in carrot costumes. The act stems from a changeover in Vienna four years ago when the Italian chowed down on a whole carrot, with Sinner joking in the past that The Carota Boys are more famous than him.
Sinner reached the final in Turin last year. Twelve months on and the Italian returns as the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, lifting majors at the Australian Open and the US Open in 2024.
Alessandro Bianchet, an Italian tennis fan, recalls watching Sinner lose to Holger Rune in Monte-Carlo in 2023 and believes that was a key point in Sinner’s development.
“We watched him in Monte-Carlo and at the Finals here in Turin last year. I have a memory of him when he lost in Monte-Carlo against Rune last year,” Bianchet said. “I think that was the turning point, that match against Rune was the start of him going to the top.”
Another Italian, Davide Carrara, lives in Bolzano, the region where Jannik Sinner grew up. Carrara highlighted the impact Sinner has had on youngsters in Italy.
“I am from the Bolzano, the region where Jannik grew up and we are so proud we have the number one player in the world from Bolzano,” Carrara said. “It is incredible now the number of youngsters who turn up to tennis and want to start tennis and be like Jannik. It is very important for Italian tennis.
“I watched him first when he was 16 years old in Italy. He had a wild card and was so young but he was already so good mentally. His mindset was there.”
<img alt=”Jannik Sinner fans” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/11/12/18/31/sinner-fans-1.jpg” style=”width: 100%;” />
Davide Carrara, first from left, and Alessandro Bianchet, fourth from left, with friends in Turin
Juan Ribadeneira travelled with his son Jose from Ecuador to watch the action in northern Italy. They have enjoyed their experience so far and are relishing the opportunity to watch Sinner take on Fritz on Tuesday in the Ilie Nastase group.
“It is our first time here,” Ribadeneira said. “Being here with the best eight players is very special. We have seen every match so far and we are here for the whole week. The atmosphere is fantastic, it is so well organised and a nice venue.
“Sinner is my favourite player,” son Juan added. “He is the favourite here and he plays the best. He is the best in the world and there are no holes in his game. If he plays well, I think only Carlos can match him.”
<img alt=”Jannik Sinner fans” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/11/12/18/33/sinner-fans-5.jpg?w=100%25″ />
Juan Ribadeneira, first from left, with his son Juan, third from left, and father.
Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic came back from the brink to rejuvenate their Nitto ATP Finals campaign on Tuesday evening in Turin.
The Dutch-Croatian pair bounced back from an opening loss at the prestigious season finale by saving a match point to down second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 4-6, 7-6(6), 10-8. Koolhof and Mektic crucially held their nerve across the business end of the match to improve to 1-1 in Mike Bryan Group.
“It was a huge battle from the beginning,” reflected Mektic. “We fought. We had some chances in the second set to break, but it didn’t happen. We were somehow holding our serves. Then both tie-breaks went really far. The first one was [8-6], we saved the match point, and we just pushed each other every point. Every point was vital in the end and it went our way.”
A pair of FIGHTERS 🥊@wesleykoolhof & @NMektic keep their hopes alive in Turin with a crucial victory!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/7HyUrUnuwI
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 12, 2024
On the cusp of a straight-sets defeat that would have eliminated them from the tournament, Koolhof and Mektic reeled off three consecutive points from 5/6 in the second-set tie-break to force a decider inside Inalpi Arena. The emotional driving force of the comeback was Koolhof, whose desire to keep alive his chances of winning a title in the final ATP Tour event of his career was clear to see.
There was still a late wobble from the Dutchman and Mektic, however, as they let slip their first three match points from 9/5 in the Match Tie-break. The pair made no mistake with their fourth match point, however, as they wrapped a victory in which they won 88 per cent (44/50) of points behind first serves, according to Infosys ATP Stats.
“The first match was a pretty high quality as well,” said Koolhof, when asked if he and Mektic had made any tactical changes after their opening defeat to Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson in Turin. “We always play great battles against Zeballos and Granollers every single time we play them. So it’s fun points, fun matches. Luckily we got the better of them again, but we didn’t really do much different than in the previous match.”
Read More: Koolhof’s ‘My Point’: A farewell to tennis
View The Best Photos From Behind The Scenes At The Nitto ATP Finals Vogue Shoot
With their one-hour, 52-minute victory, the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champions extended their Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Granollers and Zeballos to 4-0. Three of those victories have come this year, when Koolhof and Mektic prevailed against their Spanish-Argentine rivals in Auckland, Indian Wells and now Turin.
Koolhof and Mektic’s Match Tie-break win ensured that Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten became the first team to seal a semi-final spot in Turin. Heliovaara and Patten earlier improved to 2-0 on their Nitto ATP Finals debut by defeating Purcell and Thompson 7-6(3), 7-5.
A second defeat of the week in Turin was a blow to Granollers and Zeballos’ hopes of claiming ATP Year-End Doubles No. 1 presented by PIF honours. The pair remains second in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, 210 points shy of Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic. Arevalo and Pavic play their second match in Turin on Wednesday against Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]