Carlos Alcaraz received Wimbledon and reached the US Open and French Open semi-finals in 2023
Carlos Alcaraz suffered defeat on his ATP Finals debut as Alexander Zverev fought again to win in Turin, Italy.
Wimbledon champion Alcaraz misplaced 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 6-4 to Germany’s Zverev, who received the occasion in 2018 and 2021.
It’s the first time the 20-year-old Spaniard has misplaced three matches in a row since March 2021, when he was ranked exterior the world’s prime 100.
Within the day’s different Purple Group singles match, third seed Daniil Medvedev beat fellow Russian Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-2.
Within the doubles, Briton Joe Salisbury and American companion Rajeev Ram made a successful begin to their title defence with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Australian Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna of India.
And Britain’s Neal Skupski and Dutch companion Wesley Koolhof – who’re taking part in of their last match collectively – started their marketing campaign with a 6-3 6-4 win over Australians Jason Kubler and Rinky Hijikata.
Alcaraz struggles for consistency
World quantity two Alcaraz missed final yr’s match with an stomach damage and was making his debut on the season-ending males’s occasion for the world’s prime eight gamers.
He had been hampered by foot and again issues final month and misplaced in his opening match on the Paris Masters on his return from damage.
His shaky kind continued on Monday as he struggled for consistency on the quick indoor laborious court docket towards Zverev.
He trailed 3-1 within the opener earlier than breaking again and staved off 4 break factors in his subsequent service sport to guide the German for the primary time.
Zverev himself saved two set factors to pressure a tie-break, however Alcaraz discovered some semblance of rhythm to clinch the opener.
Nevertheless, seventh seed Zverev responded immediately, breaking Alcaraz on the first alternative as he pressured a deciding set.
Zverev performed the massive factors higher all through, saving 5 of six break factors and hitting 16 aces earlier than sealing victory with a service winner.
However there was a worrying second for the German – who missed final yr’s occasion whereas recovering from a nasty proper ankle damage sustained on the 2022 French Open – when he fell on his left ankle in direction of the top of the match.
“I did not twist my ankle. I form of slipped. There was a ache for some time and I do not suppose any harm has been carried out,” the ATP Finals web site quoted Zverev as saying. “I hope not and we are going to see when it settles down. It’s nothing akin to Paris.”
Daniil Medvedev halts Turin dropping run
World quantity three Daniil Medvedev was defeated in all three of his round-robin matches in Turin final yr, dropping all of them in third-set tie-breaks.
However the 2020 champion has bought off to a a lot better begin this time and was in dominant kind towards compatriot Rublev, whose rising frustration boiled over at instances.
In a high-quality and draining first set performed from the baseline, Medvedev broke within the seventh sport however was then examined when serving for the set three video games later.
The 2021 US Open champion needed to save 4 break factors – helped by some sensible reflexes on the web – and squandered three set factors with some unfastened play earlier than lastly changing his fourth.
Medvedev then ran away with the second, going a double break up after his opponent and good buddy slipped on the court docket whereas reaching for a shot.
That left Rublev nursing his proper hand after he landed on it and he sat along with his head in his arms on the changeover, speaking to himself after which taking his feelings out on a water bottle.
Medvedev rapidly wrapped up victory, serving out to like, to go prime of the group above Zverev as a result of he received in straight units.
The ATP Finals options eight of the yr’s greatest males’s gamers break up into two teams of 4, with the highest two qualifying for the semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic is the defending champion and secured the year-end primary standing with victory over Denmark’s Holger Rune on Sunday.
The Serb is again in motion on Tuesday when he takes on house hope Jannik Sinner (20:00 GMT), whereas Rune faces Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas within the different singles match (13:30) in Inexperienced Group.
