(Beijing) Jannik Sinner created a surprise on Tuesday by defeating world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (7/4), 6-1 in the semi-final of the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing, and will meet Russian Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Sinner, 4e world player, and Alcaraz went blow for blow in a first round of crazy intensity.
While the Spaniard – the big favorite in the absence of Novak Djokovic – initially took the lead by breaking twice (2-0 then 3-2), the Italian fought to resume, each time in the stride, the service of his opponent.
Sinner then dictated the game in the tiebreaker by raising his strike force another notch to win the first set after 1 hour 11 minutes of battle thanks to a forehand missile in return of service ( 7-6).
In the second round, the 22-year-old Italian achieved the entry break, before accelerating and suffocating the 20-year-old Spanish nugget who buckled under his opponent’s thrusts.
PHOTO ANDY WONG, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Daniel Medvedev
With the double break in hand, Sinner finished off the reigning Wimbledon champion in a surprisingly one-sided second set, after 1 hour 54 minutes of play, while Alcaraz had not lost a single set of the tournament until this half. -final.
The Italian, nicknamed the “fox” in reference to his red hair, thus gleans his fourth victory in seven meetings against the young Spaniard, and the second in a row after that in March in the semi-final of the master 1000 in Miami.
The matches between the two players are often spectacular, like the 5:15 a.m. thriller during the 2022 United States Open, won by the Spaniard in the New York night.
Sinner will meet Medvedev in the final on Wednesday, world number 3 and winner earlier in the day of Zverev (6-4, 6-3).
In this face-to-face, the Russian has the advantage with six meetings won in as many matches.
