Alexander Zverev secured his place in the semi-finals of the ATP Finals on Friday with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 win over Carlos Alcaraz, leaving the Spanish player's fate out of his own hands. Zverev, ranked number two in the world, took the first set in a tight tiebreak after over an hour of play in northern Italy, before cruising through the second set to claim his third straight victory in the round-robin stage.
Alcaraz, who triumphed at Wimbledon and Roland Garros this year, has struggled for form in Turin and now faces the possibility of being eliminated from the season-ending event. The loss means that Alcaraz's hopes of advancing rest on an unlikely scenario—he needs Russian Andrey Rublev, who has lost his last six Finals matches, to defeat Norwegian Casper Ruud in straight sets to keep his qualification hopes alive.
Zverev’s win guarantees his progression from the John Newcombe Group, ensuring that three of the four semi-final spots are now secured. Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz, who emerged from the Ilie Nastase Group, have also clinched their spots in the next stage of the tournament.
With the semi-finals taking shape, the remaining players will now await the outcome of the final round-robin matches to determine who will join Zverev, Sinner, and Fritz in the semi-finals.
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