Veteran Rafael Nadal’s hopes of reclaiming the atp #1 position from fellow countryman Alcaraz ended with a defeat against unseeded American Tommy Paul.
Paris Masters: World #1 Carlos Alcaraz kept his Paris Masters hopes alive with a straight-set win over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. He beat Nishioka 6-4, 6-4 in Round 3.
Though he lost serve in the first set on the only break point he faced all match, Alcaraz hit 30 winners against the Japanese opponent.
The 19-year-old Spaniard said that the first round in any tournament is not easy and one needs to be very focused to get a “good rhythm” and “good feeling”.
“I had to get used to this court in the match. I felt (it was) fast, this court, but I’m a good player on indoor courts… these kinds of courts help me with my game.”
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However veteran Rafael Nadal’s hopes of reclaiming the top position from fellow countryman Alcaraz ended with a defeat against unseeded American Tommy Paul. The Spaniard went down against Paul in three sets on Wednesday. Despite winning the first set, the final scoreline was 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1.
It was Rafa’s first singles match since his fourth-round loss in the US Open.
Another former number 1, Medvedev, lost to Australian Alex de Minaur 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. The Russian top seed had just won a title in Vienna last week. It was de Minaur’s first win against the top 5.
After losing the first set, Medvedev did come back in the second and won it by 6-2. Frustration was visible in Medvedev as he smashed his racket into the ground when he double-faulted on the match point.
De Minaur said that he knew everyone was tired but he was very proud of his performance.
The Australian youngster will next face Frances Tiafoe, who beat an unseeded Jack Draper 6-3 7-5.
Earlier, 4th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Britain’s Dan Evans in straight sets 6-3 6-4. He broke Evans early and capitalized on the errors made by the Brit.
The final 8 of the ATP Finals are set
In other results, Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime and Russian Andrey Rublev secured the last two positions of the ATP Finals in Turin as Taylor Fritz’s faced an upset from local boy Gilles Simon.
In the last tournament of his career, Simon has had a good run so far. First, he defeated Andy Murray in Round 1 and now he crushed Fritz’s hopes of the ATP Finals by beating him 75 5-7 6-4.
Auger-Aliassime, who had a great October, had to push harder to beat Swedish Mikael Ymer 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(6). Rublev moved past John Isner in straight sets 6-2 6-3 on Tuesday.
The Final 8 for ATP Finals are as such: Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, Nadal, Casper Ruud, Tsitsipas, Medvedev, Auger Aliassime and Andrey Rublev.
WTA Finals: Sakkari becomes the first semifinalist
In the WTA Finals in Texas, world no. 5 Maria Sakkari beat the No.7 seed Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4. The match lasted for 97 minutes. She became the first player to reach the semi-final. This is her second semifinal in a row.
Sakkari said that it was important to be aggressive against Sabalenka because she was one of the hardest hitters in the WTA circuit.
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In another match of the Nancy Richey Group No. 2, Ons Jabeur moved past Jessica Pegula after losing the first set 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. She became the first Tunisian to win a match in the WTA Finals tournament.
Jabeur said on the Tennis Channel set that Pegula was playing quite well and fast, “The balls were tough, very low – I know she likes to play the balls like that. And I just had to find that click to just change up the rhythm and impose my game.”, Jabeur stated further.
This has been another disappointment for Pegula against a top 5 player. She is 0-7 against the top 5 in 2022, her 9th in a row and her career head-to-head is 2-13.
While Sakkari is already into the semifinals, the other spot is wide open with Sabalenka and Jabeur having 1 win out of 2. Pegula hasn’t won a match yet but her hopes are still alive.
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In doubles, the top seeds Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova beat the 6th seeds Yang Zhaoxuan and Xu Yifan 6-3, 6-3. With this win, they stayed undefeated and secured their advancement to the next round.
