World no. 3 Carlos Alcaraz scored his first victory at the ATP Finals.Two days after losing to Casper Ruud and experiencing breathing issues due to cold, the Spaniarddefeated Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 in an hour and 36 minutes.Alcaraz remains in contention for a place in the semi-final, although he faces an in-form Alexander Zverev in the last round-robin stage match on Friday.
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Alcaraz played well behind the first and second serve, facing no break points and keeping the pressure on the other side. Rublev fought well but it was not enough for a better result, getting broken two times in the opening set before raising his level. The Russian created two set points in the tie break of the second set, missing them and allowing the Spaniard to seal the deal in straight sets.
Carlos tamed his strokes nicely and landed 31 winners and 20 unforced errors, leaving his rival on a 14-20 ratio. Andrey blasted 30 service winners but lost the ground from the baseline, trailing in the mid-range exchanges and losing the match in that segment.
Alcaraz savestwo set points and topsRublev to stay alive
Carlos served well in the opener and kept the pressure on the other side in three consecutive return games. Andrey saved two break points in the fifth game with fine hitting before squandering a 40-15 lead at 3-3. Alcaraz climbed back and cracked a forehand down the line winner on a break chance to move in front and gain a boost.
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The Spaniard cemented the lead with a hold at 30 in game eight and made another push on the return in the next one. He painted a forehand crosscourt winner for a set point and welcomed the rival's loose forehand for the second consecutive break and 6-3 in 37 minutes.
Rublev recovered his strokes in the second set and followed Alcaraz's pace. Andrey survived deuces on serve in games two and four, and they provided comfortable holds in the remaining ones to introduce a tie break. Alcaraz earned a mini-break in the third point and defended superbly in the eighth point to open a 5-3 gap with a backhand down the line winner.
Andrey bounced back and claimed three straight points, generating a set point. The Spaniard saved it with a forehand winner and landed a powerful serve for 7-6 and a match point. Andrey saved it with a service winner and created the second set point after the rival's terrible volley at the net.
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Carlos denied it with a forced error and caused another for the second match point. World no. 3 converted it with a sharp return, welcoming the opponent's forced error and moving over the top.
