Sinner has a wide open door to the semi-finals, Alcaraz is likely to drop out of ATP Finals

Jannik Sinner continued his impressive run at the ATP Finals with a convincing 6-4, 6-4 win over Taylor Fritz in the early hours of this morning (13 November). Sinner improved his record to 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group, in a dramatic match in front of 12,000 spectators at the Inalpi Arena.

Sinner rộng cửa vào bán kết, Alcaraz có khả năng bỏ ATP Finals - 1 — Sinner is in good form at the ATP Finals (Photo: Getty).

Speaking after the match, Sinner said: “It was a very difficult match, we know each other very well from facing each other in the Grand Slam final.” Previously, Sinner defeated Fritz in the US Open final this year. He added: “We knew exactly what to expect today, he was very hungry and I was ready.”

Sinner also stressed the importance of serving in decisive moments: “I just tried to serve well in important moments, and I did. It was a very important game in the second set, I was down 0/30. If he had broken successfully, the match could have changed.”

The world number one kept Fritz on his toes in the first set, serving well and taking the lead. Sinner saved a break point in the seventh game, and Fritz responded with a triple break point in the following game. However, the Italian broke in the tenth game to win 6-4.

In the second set, the script did not change as Sinner managed his service games well. In the 7th and 9th games, Fritz led 30-0 but Sinner won four consecutive points to successfully defend the game. Once again, Sinner broke in the 10th game to win 6-4.

Sinner rộng cửa vào bán kết, Alcaraz có khả năng bỏ ATP Finals - 2 — Medvedev covered his ears as if to show that he needed to calm down to compete (Photo: Getty).

Earlier in the Ilie Nastase Group, Daniil Medvedev won his first match when he defeated Alex de Minaur 6-2, 6-4 to continue competing for a place in the semi-finals. With this victory, Medvedev improved his head-to-head record against De Minaur to 7-3.

Medvedev showed a completely different form from his loss to Taylor Fritz. In the match against De Minaur, he did not face any break-points and dominated the winners 24-10.

Medvedev shared: “I played this match by blocking out the noise, even from myself. I really didn’t care what was going on on the court, I just tried to play, it was a good feeling. Sometimes, blocking out the noise is a good thing, I did that well today.”

Medvedev added: “After the last match, I was too mentally tired to fight the way I usually do. So I went into today’s match trying to hit some shots, even thinking about next year, what worked, what didn’t. This way worked, so I’m absolutely fine.”

Medvedev was aggressive in the match, especially in the opening set, breaking the third and fifth games to take a quick victory. The second set was more even, but Medvedev played well in the crucial ninth game to break serve and move on to his first win over a top-10 opponent on hard courts since March.

Medvedev’s victory opens up the chance to reach the semi-finals if he overcomes world number one Jannik Sinner in the final match. For De Minaur, the defeat dealt a heavy blow to the Australian’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals, where he will face Fritz in the final match.

Sinner rộng cửa vào bán kết, Alcaraz có khả năng bỏ ATP Finals - 3 — Alcaraz is facing the possibility of an early exit from the ATP Finals (Photo: Getty).

Speculation is growing that Carlos Alcaraz could withdraw from the ATP Finals after the Spaniard failed to complete a practice session on November 12.

Alcaraz was in worrying form in the opening game against Casper Ruud, and after the match he admitted he was struggling with fitness.

The four-time Grand Slam champion had been unwell in the build-up to the tournament and was seen wearing a nose patch during his shock 6-1, 7-5 defeat in his opening match at the ATP Finals.

After the match, Alcaraz shared: “A few days before I came here, I was sick. The days I trained here, I was still able to play. I felt like I could participate in training, but in matches it was completely different. Today, I didn’t feel well.

This morning I felt sick to my stomach. After the long matches today, I didn’t feel well. I don’t want to make excuses for the defeat, I just say what I feel. That’s what happened today.

Alcaraz is scheduled to face Andrey Rublev in the second round match tonight (8:00 p.m., November 13). However, his chances of continuing to participate in the ATP Finals are becoming difficult after yesterday’s practice session lasted only 10 minutes.

During a practice session with Andres Martin in Turin, Alcaraz struggled with chest tightness and shortness of breath. After cancelling the session, the world No. 3 took the afternoon off and will decide later whether he will play Rublev.