Relentless Alcaraz downs Khachanov in Beijing, sets Medvedev SF clash
p a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview'Carlos Alcaraz/a is a semi-finalist at the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/beijing/747/overview'China Open/a once again. /p
p The Spaniard on Monday delivered a high-quality 7-5, 6-2 victory against a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/karen-khachanov/ke29/overview'Karen Khachanov/a to book his last-four spot at the ATP 500 in Beijing. Alcaraz was a consistent threat in return games throughout the 96-minute encounter with Khachanov, who showcased plenty of quality himself but was unable to match the sheer relentlessness of his opponent from the baseline. /p
p ldquo;I always try to be aggressive, hitting strong shots, and I feel like Irsquo;m not afraid to show that,rdquo; said Alcaraz, who has now won his past seven tour-level matches. ldquo;To try again and again. Thatrsquo;s what Irsquo;m feeling right now. /p
p ldquo;In the past matches, everything went well, so I canrsquo;t complain at all. I know that I have to keep trying. Irsquo;m hitting the ball really well, Irsquo;m moving well, and Irsquo;m not letting my opponents show their best tennis. Itrsquo;s like the match is in my style. Thatrsquo;s what I like and what I want in every match.rdquo; /p
blockquote class="twitter-tweet"
p lang="en" dir="ltr"Back-to-back Beijing semi-finals ????a href="https://twitter.com/carlosalcaraz?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"@carlosalcaraz/a returns to the final four at the a href="https://twitter.com/ChinaOpen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"@ChinaOpen/a.a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ChinaOpen?src=hashamp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"#ChinaOpen/a a href="https://t.co/0zQ0p7szqO"pic.twitter.com/0zQ0p7szqO/a/p
mdash; ATP Tour (@atptour) a href="https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1840694886468907014?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"September 30, 2024/a/blockquote
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p The second-seeded Alcaraz, who fell to eventual champion a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jannik-sinner/s0ag/overview'Jannik Sinner/a in the semi-finals last year in Beijing, converted four of 12 break points he earned against Khachanov, according to Infosys ATP Stats. With his 46th tour-level match win of 2024, the 21-year-old rose one spot to replace a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/alexander-zverev/z355/overview'Alexander Zverev/a as No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. /p
p Alcaraz also jumped above Zverev into second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as a result of Mondayrsquo;s victory. The a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/roland-garros/520/overview'Roland Garros/a and a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a champion, who has already qualified for the a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/nitto-atp-finals/605/overview'Nitto ATP Finals/a, is 2,890 points behind first-placed Sinner in the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours. The Italian could extend his lead again later on Monday, however, when he takes on a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jiri-lehecka/l0bv/overview'Jiri Lehecka/a in his Beijing quarter-final. /p
p/p
p Awaiting Alcaraz in the last four in the Chinese capital will be a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/daniil-medvedev/mm58/overview'Daniil Medvedev/a. The third seed defeated a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/flavio-cobolli/c0e9/overview'Flavio Cobolli/a 6-2, 6-4 to maintain his bid for his maiden ATP Tour crown of 2024. Alcaraz leads Medvedev 5-2 in the pairrsquo;s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and won both their tour-level meetings so far this season in Indian Wells and at a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/wimbledon/540/overview'Wimbledon/a, respectively. /p
p ldquo;Itrsquo;s always difficult facing Medvedev,rdquo; said Alcaraz. ldquo;I played great matches against him earlier this year and during the past couple of years. Irsquo;m ready to take that challenge, to try to play my best tennis to pass him. Itrsquo;s always a war. Long matches, long rallies, when I play against him, but Irsquo;m ready for the challenge.rdquo; /p
p [NEWSLETTER FORM] /p