Once more, Carlos Alcaraz is in the China Open semifinals.
With a superb 7-5, 6-2 victory over Karen Khachanov on Monday, the Spaniard secured his place in the final four of the ATP 500 in Beijing. Throughout the 96-minute match, Alcaraz posed a constant danger in return games while Khachanov, while displaying some talent of his own, was unable to match the sheer relentlessness of his opponent from the baseline.
According to Infosys ATP Stats, the second-seeded Alcaraz, who lost to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the Beijing semifinals last year, converted four of his twelve break chance against Khachanov. The 21-year-old moved up one spot to take Alexander Zverev’s place at No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings after winning his 46th tour-level match of 2024.
Back-to-back Beijing semi-finals 🔥@carlosalcaraz returns to the final four at the @ChinaOpen.#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/0zQ0p7szqO
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 30, 2024
After winning on Monday, Alcaraz also moved up to second place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, surpassing Zverev. In the competition for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honors, the winner of Roland Garros and Wimbledon, who has already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, is 2,890 points behind Sinner in first place. But when he faces Jiri Lehecka in his Beijing quarterfinal later on Monday, the Italian might expand his lead once more.
Daniil Medvedev will be waiting for Alcaraz in the final four in the Chinese capital. The third seed kept up his chances of winning his first ATP Tour title in 2024 by defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-4.
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