In just under 90 minutes at the China Open on Tuesday, Carlos Alcaraz defeated the fifth-ranked player in the world. It was the kind of form that left the Spaniard beaming after his post-match handshake with Daniil Medvedev—a sight for sore eyes, after the 21-year-old’s somewhat sullen post-Wimbledon stretch. It was also the kind of form that may be required, once again, if he’s to continue his resurgent run in Beijing.
That’s because his opponent in the final may be Jannik Sinner, who hasn’t lost in his last 14 matches.
First, though, let’s discuss Alcaraz’s semifinal conquest in Beijing. Nearly half of his games won were via breaks—Alcaraz converted five of 11 chances—and despite being broken himself twice in the opening set, he always seemed impose his will against the typically unflappable Medvedev.
Serving at 4-3 in the opener, Alcaraz struck two unforced errors in a break-filled stretch to give Medvedev life. The Russian then held for 5-4. From that point on, Alcaraz would win nine of 12 games. His groundstrokes misfired at times, and Medvedev had his chances, but never long enough to feel the match was outside of Alcaraz’s control.
