(Tennis nws) Dominik Koepfer, Lloyd Harris, Dan Evans, and Matteo Arnaldi were among the opponents Alcaraz defeated to advance to the round of eight and begin his championship defence. In the quarterfinals, he faced eventual champion of the 2020 US Open Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz faced two break points in the first set, but she held on to make the score 4-3. Then, in the following game, he broke Zverev’s serve to put himself up 5-3, and he easily served out the set.
In the second set, Alcaraz was even more dominant, breaking his rival’s serve twice to win it. The third set saw a slight decline in his performance, but Zverev was unable to take advantage of it. To complete a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory, the Spaniard won the final three games of the match.
To get to the quarterfinals, where Andrey Rublev awaited, Medvedev had to defeat Attila Balazs, Christopher O’Connell, Sebastian Baez, and Alex de Minaur. After falling behind 3-0 in the first set, the former world number one won six of the following seven games to take the opening set.
As he lost the second set 3-1, Medvedev found himself in a precarious position once more. However, he once more turned the tables on Rublev by winning the next five games in a row to win the set.
Similar to the second set, the third set saw Medvedev come from behind to win it after falling behind 4-2. To win the match 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, he won the following four games.
Head-to-Head
Head-to-head, Alcaraz leads Medvedev 2-1. Their most recent matchup took place at Wimbledon in 2023, with the Spaniard winning in straight sets.
Predictions
Medvedev did a fantastic job of fighting back in each of the three sets to eliminate Rublev. The match was far more difficult because of the circumstances, yet he appeared physically fatigued. He also threw nine double faults when serving, which was fairly unreliable.
Zverev occasionally put Alcaraz to the test, but Alcaraz persevered and played brilliantly on crucial moments to win. He went a perfect 4/4 on break points on his opponent’s serve while saving all five of the breakpoints he was presented with.
In their two meetings this year, Alcaraz defeated Medvedev both times in straight sets. At the Indian Wells Masters final on the first occasion, the Spaniard ended the Russian’s 19-match winning streak. Alcaraz won the Wimbledon championship more recently after defeating Medvedev in the semifinals.
The 20-year-old is able to penetrate the Russian’s defences thanks to his versatility, anticipation, footwork, and astute shotmaking.The past couple of years have seen the two of them win the title in New York. However, the result is expected to be the same, with Alcaraz winning, regardless of how competitive this match is compared to their past encounters.
Carlos Alcaraz to win in 5 sets.
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