Third-ranked Carlos Alcaraz’s athleticism was again on show as he advanced to the men’s final of the China Open with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday.
“I felt great on the court once again, so I’m really happy about it,” said Alcaraz. “I think I couldn’t ask for a better semi-final.” The four-time grand slam champion extended his head-to-head record against the Russian to 6-2. Alcaraz will play world No 1 Jannik Sinner in the final after the Italian overcame Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete.
The 21-year-old Spaniard found his way through a testing first set that featured five breaks of serve, but crucially it was Alcaraz‘s third service break in the 12th game that secured the set. With the confidence of a set lead, Alcaraz accelerated and Medvedev had no answers as the Spaniard wrapped up victory in 88 minutes.
Alcaraz has now won eight straight matches – across the Davis Cup, Laver Cup and in Beijing – since his loss to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round at the US Open.
The defending champion Sinner made it 15 victories in a row with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) triumph over Bu. Alcaraz leads their head-to-heads 5-4 after winning both meetings in 2024, most recently a five-set semi-final clash at the French Open in June. “It’s going to be a tough match,” said Sinner, who defeated Alcaraz in the last four 12 months ago. “We know each other very well but every match is different. I’m happy to be in the final.”
Coco Gauff reached the quarter-finals of the women’s tournament after Naomi Osaka retired with a back injury. This was a much-anticipated fifth meeting between two of the WTA Tour’s biggest stars – and a first since 2022 – and Gauff had just levelled at one set all when Osaka, who received medical treatment early in the contest, shook hands.
Gauff helped carry Osaka’s bags off the court and then said: “It was a good match up until this point. I wish Naomi a speedy recovery. No one wants to win a match like this, especially one-set all. Overall I tried my best. It wasn’t my best tennis.”
Paula Badosa reeled off 11 of the last 12 games in a 6-4, 6-0 victory over US Open finalist Jessica Pegula to reach her eighth career quarter-final at a WTA 1000-level event. From 3-1 down in the opening set, the former No 2-ranked Badosa dominated in her first-ever win over third-ranked Pegula.
“She’s one the of the players I never want to face – she’s very solid, hits very flat, changes very well direction,” said Badosa, who was 0-3 previously against Pegula. “I prepared myself for a battle, but I think today everything worked pretty well. Every point was very important for me, especially against Jessica, because she can come back at any moment.”
Badosa next faces the 35-year-old Chinese player Zhang Shuai, who continued her resurgence with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Magdalena Frech of Poland.
Zhang entered the China Open on a 24-match losing streak and ranked No 595, but is yet to drop a set in four matches this week. That includes eliminating US Open semi-finalist Emma Navarro in straight sets for her first win over a top 10 player in two years.
“In this draw, everyone has a higher ranking than me,” Zhang said. “Just step on court, just play. So I do not have much to think about, to prepare. I will just focus on myself.”
Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine also caused an upset loss by beating No 14-ranked Anna Kalinskaya 7-5, 6-0. The No 115-ranked Starodubtseva will next play Gauff.
Source: theguardian.com
