Alcaraz wins against Rublev and Zverev beats Ruud
Carlos Alcaraz overcame illness to defeat Andrey Rublev at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The 21-year-old Spaniard won 6-3 7-6 (10-8) despite cutting short his practice session on Tuesday after struggling with a chest complaint.
German second seed Alexander Zverev later claimed his second victory with a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 win over Casper Ruud in the John Newcombe Group.
Zverev will guarantee his place in the semi-finals if he beats Alcaraz in the final round of the group stage on Friday.
Sporting a pink nasal strip to help his breathing, third seed Alcaraz won four consecutive games against Rublev to take the first set in 37 minutes with a double break of serve.
He claimed the second in an epic tie-break, hitting 33 winners overall in the match compared to 14 for the Russian.
“I surprised myself the way I played from the baseline. I was really calm,” Alcaraz said.
“I just focused on my game and what I have to do and forgetting I’m not feeling well.”
Two-time champion Zverev wins again
Zverev, seeking his third ATP Finals title, followed up his defeat of Rublev with a straight-set win against Norwegian sixth seed Ruud.
Ruud only missed six of his first serves in the first set but Zverev dominated the tie-break after the opening 12 games yielded no break points.
With an hour and 20 minutes gone, Zverev finally secured a break to go 5-3 up in the second set and served out to love for victory.
“I think it was a very good match actually from both of us,” he said. “I’m happy to win today but it was very, very close.”
On Thursday, American Taylor Fritz faces Australian Alex de Minuar (13:00 GMT) in the final round of Ilie Nastase Group matches.
World number one Jannik Sinner will reach the last four if he claims a set against Daniil Medvedev (19:30), and will top the group with a third straight win.
Source: BBC