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Alcaraz Falls to Zverev, Medvedev Tops Rublev at ATP Finals 

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
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Alcaraz Falls to Zverev, Medvedev Tops Rublev at ATP Finals 

Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)
Alexander Zverev of Germany reacts after winning his Red Group singles match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Nitto ATP Finals tennis tournament in Turin, Italy, 13 November 2023. (EPA)

A sluggish Carlos Alcaraz was beaten 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 by Alexander Zverev on his debut at the ATP Finals on Monday to continue his end-of-year slump with a third straight defeat.

The 20-year-old world number two, who missed last year's edition of the season-ending championship due to injury, put the blame for his loss squarely on the fast indoor surface at the cavernous Pala Alpitour in Turin.

"I don't know why they put this surface at the end of the year," the Spaniard said in his post-match news conference.

"All the tournaments we have played on hard court are so, so, slow and then we come here to the Masters (Cup) and they put this court so, so fast.

"I don't understand why they've set the speed so high for this tournament when we have never played on a surface like this all year."

Alcaraz is looking to become the youngest ATP Finals champion since Pete Sampras in 1991 and, despite the loss, still has a chance to advance to the knockout stages from the round-robin Red Group.

"This tournament is different for many things, and one of them is that it allows you to go through to the semi-finals despite losing the first match," Alcaraz posted on Instagram.

The Spaniard's next match is on Wednesday against Andrey Rublev, who went down 6-4 6-2 to Daniil Medvedev in his Red Group opener on Monday.

The Russian duo were expected to duke it out in another epic showdown after meeting in the final of the Dubai Open and the quarter-finals of the US Open earlier this year.

Fifth ranked Rublev, however, fell apart after losing the first set and failed to put up much resistance as Medvedev eased to a 7-2 career record in matches against his compatriot.

"I felt really good and was able to get the upper hand fast," Medvedev said.

"I like to play aggressive on my serve, but Rublev plays in such a style that he doesn't give me any other option because I don't have the power of Alcaraz or (Stefanos) Tsitsipas on my forehand."

The action continues on Tuesday with Tsitsipas taking on Holger Rune, and world number one Novak Djokovic facing Jannik Sinner.

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Zheng Loses to No 97 Siegemund, Osaka Rallies to Advance at Australian Open

Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
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Zheng Loses to No 97 Siegemund, Osaka Rallies to Advance at Australian Open

Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)
Germany's Laura Siegemund (L) shakes hands with China's Zheng Qinwen after the women's singles match on day four of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 15, 2025. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Distracted by a time penalty and unable to counteract No. 97-ranked Laura Siegemund's aggressive approach, Zheng Qinwen's loss in the second round Wednesday fell a long way short of last year's run to the Australian Open final.
Zheng lost the 2024 decider at Melbourne Park to Aryna Sabalenka and went on to win the Olympic gold medal in Paris and finish runner-up at the WTA Finals in a breakout season.
But her first tournament of the year ended in a 7-6 (3), 6-3 loss on John Cain Arena against 36-year-old Siegemund, who attacked from the first point and put Zheng off her game.
Zheng needed a change of shoes early in the second set, got a time warning on her serve from the chair umpire — she said she couldn't clearly see the clock — and was worried about some minor issues which sidelined her before the Australian Open.
“I feel maybe today is not my day. There’s a lot of details in the important points. I didn’t do the right choice,” The Associated Press quoted Zheng as saying.
Of a weak serve that bounced before the net, Zheng said the time warning from the umpire “obviously that one really distracted me from the match.”
“This is my fourth year in the tour, and never happen that to me.”
Both of last year's women's finalists were playing at the same time on nearby courts.
Sabalenka, the two-time defending champion, extended her run to 16 wins at Melbourne Park by winning the last five games to beat No. 54-ranked Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-3, 7-5.
Naomi Osaka, another two-time Australian Open champion, reached the third round of a major for the first time since 2022 when she weathered an early barrage from US Open semifinalist Karolina Muchova before rallying to win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Osaka lost in the first round here last year to Caroline Garcia in her comeback from maternity leave but avenged that with a first-round victory over Garcia this week.
Osaka said she used a loss to Muchova at the US Open as motivation.
“She crushed me in the US Open when I had my best outfit ever,” Osaka joked in a post-match interview. “I was so disappointed. I was so mad. This was my little revenge.”
Osaka will next meet Belinda Bencic, the Tokyo Olympic gold medalist who is playing in her first major since the birth of her daughter, Bella, last year.
Also advancing were No. 7 Jessica Pegula, had a 6-4, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens, and 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the No. 14 seed who beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
The scoreline in Sabalenka's match didn't reflect the difficulty, with Bouzas Maneiro taking huge swipes at the ball in her Australian Open debut and dictating some of the points against the world No. 1-ranked player. Her serve let her down, with Sabalenka able to relieve some pressure on her own serve with five breaks.
No. 7 Jessica Pegula had a 6-4, 6-2 win over Elise Mertens to reach the third round, along with Belinda Bencic and 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, the No. 14 seed who beat Moyuka Uchijima 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8).
Siegemund has never been past the third round in Australia, but is taking confidence from her big upset. Her only lapse was when she was broken serving for the first set. She recovered to dominate the tiebreaker, while Zheng remained too conservative in her tactics until right near the end.
“I knew I just had to play more than my best tennis. I had nothing to lose. I just told myself to swing free,” Siegemund said. Zheng is “an amazing player. One of the best players right now, but I know I can play well and I wanted to show that to myself.”
Third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz, aiming to add the Australian Open title to complete a set of all four major crowns, advanced 6-0, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka.
“The less time you spend on the court in the Grand Slams, especially at the beginning of the tournament, it’s gonna be better, especially physically,” Alcaraz said. “I just try to be focused on spending as less time as I can,” on court.