(Tennis news) Carlos Alcaraz picked up his second straight set victory in as many matches as he beat Brandon Nakashima at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals. Alcaraz attacked from the baseline and his defense was top class as Nakashima could only watch some great passing shots across the net. In the second set the score was 3-0 when Alcaraz mixed court coverage and great reflexes as Nakashima’s passing shot hit the net which saw Alcaraz reacting in no time to win the point. Alcaraz defeated Nakashima 4-3(7-4), 4-1, 4-3(7-4).
Sebastian Korda also notched up his second successive victory at the event as he beat Sebastian Baez who produced an upset earlier by winning the opening match Lorenzo Musetti. Korda played an all round game as he came at the net on occasions and also hit deep strokes from the baseline as Baez’s game slowly fell apart. Korda will next face Musetti tomorrow in the final group stage match. Korda defeated Baez 4-3(7-3), 4-2, 4-2.
Musetti won the longest match ever of the event as he beat Hugo Gaston in two hours and 33 minutes. Musetti was as fast and agile as Gaston in the match which saw many moments of magic by both players. Musetti took the first two sets as there were many sudden drop shots and out stretched volleys but Gaston took the next two as the match did not seem to end anytime soon. In the final set, Musetti relied on his powerful groundstrokes as he laid down the court after winning the final point to give Gaston his second consecutive defeat at the event. Musetti defeated Gaston 4-3(7-4), 4-3(8-6), 3-4(7-9), 2-3, 4-2.
Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune kept hitting huge groundstrokes to beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo for his first win in the event. Rune tried to minimise the length of the rallies and kept the Argentine on the run from the first point of the match. Juan had his bit of domination in the third set as the left hander otherwise could not find tactics to battle Rune as he lost the fourth set. Rune defeated Juan 4-1, 4-2, 1-4, 4-1.
Alcaraz has qualified for the semifinals from Group A as the winner between Brandon Nakashima and Holger Rune will qualify for the second spot. In Group B, Sebastian Korda needs to defeat Musetti to qualify for the semifinal as Musetti needs to win against Korda in a maximum of four sets to qualify for the last semifinals.
