Turin is waiting to appoint the master of the Masters for the past tennis season. But before the final, the semi-finals. Full card in the group stage and direct rival for the title eliminated: Alexander Zverev killed two birds with one stone by dismissing Carlos Alcaraz from the ATP Masters, dominated 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, this Friday in Turin .
Like world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the other group, qualified for the last four since the day before, Zverev completed the group stage with three victories and no sets lost.
His confidence is at its zenith: counting his flawless performance in Paris where he won the last Masters 1000 of the year, he has scored an eighth victory and signed his 69th success in 2024, more than any player, more even than Sinner (68).
“I want to win big titles, I want to be world No.1, I want to compete with Carlos (Alcaraz) and Jannik (Sinner) who are a level above me,” he said.
Certainly, Alcaraz, ill for several days, did not produce his best tennis. Beaten at the start of the week by the Norwegian Casper Ruud for his entry into the running (6-1, 7-5), the Spaniard revived by beating the Russian Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (10/8 ), but he failed to worry Zverev, notably due to a faulty serve.
Guaranteed to finish in first place in his group, Zverev inherits the American Taylor Fritz, 5th in the world and runner-up to Sinner in the “Ilie Nastase” group. “He won our last two clashes (in the round of 16 at Wimbledon and in the quarter-finals of the US Open), he is confident, it will be a great match,” said Zverev.
Ruud snatches the last ticket, Alcaraz eliminated
The fourth and final ticket for the last four went to the Norwegian Casper Ruud, qualified even before the end of his match against the Russian Andrey Rublev, thanks to the victory of the first round.
The world number 8 will participate for the third time in three appearances in the semi-finals and will challenge the big favorite and public favorite, Jannik Sinner, on Saturday evening.
Alcaraz will quickly travel to Malaga for the final phase of the Davis Cup where Rafael Nadal will bid farewell to tennis next week: “I want to do everything so that Rafa ends his career by winning one last title,” he said. he promised.
