Browsing: Alcaraz

Alexander Zverev thinks that tournament organizers throughout the sport of tennis are rigging the courts to ensure that Carlos Alcarez and Jannik Sinner have deep runs.

Speaking on the court after his win over Valentin Royer at the Shanghai Masters, Zverev claimed that tournament directors were taking variety out of the types of courts to help Alcaraz and Sinner because they “prefer” them having success:

“I hate when it’s the same, to be honest. I think the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament, and that’s what they prefer. Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it. I’m not a fan of it. I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety, and I think we’re lacking that right now.”

This article will be updated soon to provide more information and analysis.

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Alexander Zverev says tournament organizers are slowing down tennis courts to favor Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

Zverev, the world No. 3, overcame an injury scare to beat Valentin Royer 6-4, 6-4 at the Shanghai Masters on Saturday but then voiced his displeasure with the way he felt the sport was heading.

“I hate when it’s the same, to be honest,” Zverev said in his on-court interview. “I think the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament, and that’s what they prefer.

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“Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it. I’m not a fan of it. I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety, and I think we’re lacking that right now.”

Alcaraz and Sinner are the only two players to hold the No. 1 ranking since June 2024. They split this year’s four Grand Slams, and both are coming off title wins — Sinner at the China Open and Alcaraz at the Japan Open — though Alcaraz is missing the Shanghai Masters because of a left ankle injury.

Zverev had to be treated on court for a toe injury when serving for the match at 5-4, but it did not halt his progress.

“I landed funny on my toe, and after that I could barely do a step, so we’ll see what it is,” he said. “We will see if I will ever be healthy this year again, because it’s been a struggle, but I’m happy to be through.”

PA contributed to this report.

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World number one Carlos Alcaraz beat Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-4 at the Japan Open – before pulling out of this week’s Shanghai Masters.

Alcaraz secured his eighth ATP title of the year in Tokyo.

But he then announced that he has withdrawn from the tournament in Shanghai, which starts on Tuesday, writing on Instagram that “the best decision is to rest and recover”.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been struggling with some physical issues and, after discussing with my team, we believe the best decision is to rest and recover,” he wrote.

The Spaniard twisted his left ankle during his opening-round match in Tokyo last Thursday.

But he showed no signs of an issue during the final, broke for 5-4 and served out for the first set against Fritz.

Fritz twice required treatment to his left thigh before returning for the second and Alcaraz seized the opportunity to pile on the pressure.

The American was broken twice and trailed 4-1 but did offer some resistance in the closing stages, chalking one of those off, but didn’t have enough to stop the six-time Grand Slam champion.

Since losing against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in July, Alcaraz has won three successive ATP titles – the Cincinnati Open, US Open and Tokyo Open.

But he will not take part in the tournament in Shanghai, where he reached the quarter-finals last year.

The Japan Open is Alcaraz’s 67th win of the season as he closes in further on Sinner’s tally of 73 wins in 2024.

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After consoling his opponent and embracing his team at the end of another successful week on the tour, Carlos Alcaraz had just one thought on his mind. He immediately sought out a pair of scissors to finally remove the extensive bandage wrapped tightly around his left ankle.

Having started his week in Tokyo by rolling his ankle and being unsure about whether he would continue, Alcaraz, the ATP No 1, ended it with his eighth title of the season as he overcame a spirited fight from a physically hampered Taylor Fritz to triumph at the Japan Open with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Throughout the first few years of his career, even as he continued to win the biggest titles at a faster rate than almost any other male player in history, Alcarazâ€s relative inconsistency had been a dominant narrative surrounding his career. He has addressed those criticisms by putting together one of the greatest seasons of the past decade, one that has re-established him as the best player in the world.

Alcaraz has now reached nine consecutive finals, winning seven titles across all three surfaces and establishing a 66-6 (92%) record at individual events this year. At just 22 years old, the five-time grand slam champion and world No 1 has now won 24 ATP titles.

The past week has been particularly challenging. Four games into his first-round match against Sebastian Baez, Alcaraz rolled his left ankle. As he tried to play through pain and find a way through that match, Alcaraz was unsure whether he would be able to continue. Although Alcaraz played the rest of the tournament with his ankle heavily taped, he moved with increasing freedom in each match.

During his victory speech, Alcaraz thanked his physio Juanjo Moreno for his work during the week: “Starting the week not really good, with the ankle, and the way that I came back from that playing such a great tournament, great matches, Iâ€m just really happy about it,†he said.

Fritz, the No 4 and second seed, entered this final with ample reason to believe he could win after convincingly beating the Spaniard for the first time last week in the Laver Cup, where the American played some of the best tennis of his career and led Team World to victory. With an individual title on the line, however, Alcaraz was clearly performing at a much higher level from the beginning.

Although Fritz opened the match using his destructive first serve well, playing confident attacking tennis and working through his early service games, Alcaraz gradually took control of the baseline exchanges. He dominated with his forehand, currently the biggest weapon on the tour, he exposed the Americanâ€s average movement with his drop shots and he absorbed Fritzâ€s first strike with his own spectacular movement.

Carlos Alcaraz returns a shot against Taylor Fritz during the Japan Open final. Photograph: Rodrigo Reyes Marin/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

After conceding his first service game right at the end of the first set, Fritz called for the trainer and he received a medical timeout for his left thigh. He was clearly struggling with his movement throughout the second set and he was unable to push off his left leg when dragged out into the corners. Even at full health, defeating Alcaraz in his current form is a monumental challenge. Here it was simply too much.

Still, Fritz bravely continued to fight and, not for the first time in his career, Alcaraz began to lose his focus against his hampered opponent. From 5-1 in the second set, Alcaraz instead found himself desperately trying to hold on at 5-4, 15-30. He demonstrated his confidence in the final moments by regaining his composure precisely when he needed it, striking three consecutive drop shot winners from 15-30 down to close out yet another win.

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World number two Jannik Sinner moved into the semi-finals of the China Open in Beijing thanks to a 6-1 7-5 victory over Hungarian Fabian Marozsan on Monday.

Italian Sinner claimed a seventh semi-final spot from the eight tournaments he has played this year and only needed 26 minutes to clinch the opening set.

In the second he fell awkwardly in the eighth game and was a break down at 4-5 but hit back immediately to deny Marozsan the set.

Sinner held and pounced on his opponent’s serve again in the 12th game, sealing his 40th tour-level match win of a season in which he served a short doping ban.

“I feel like I started off very well in the first set. We both played well in the second set. I had some break chances at 4-3 – I couldn’t use them,” Sinner said.

“He’s someone whose peak is high, which I knew before the match. When he was serving for the set he made a couple of unforced errors which helped me to come back and win in two.”

Up next for the four-time major champion is Australian third seed Alex de Minaur, who reached the semi-finals when Czech 20-year-old Jakub Mensik retired from their match with a left-leg injury while trailing 1-4 in the opening set.

American teenager Learner Tien reached his first ATP Tour semi-final when fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti retired trailing 4-6 6-3 3-0. The Italian appeared to be hampered by a thigh or groin issue.

Eighth seed Daniil Medvedev cruised past German second seed Alexander Zverev 6-3 6-3. The Russian has beaten Zverev 14 times in 20 meetings, including eight of their past 10 matches.

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Defending champion Gauff came through an error-strewn third-round match at the China Open, saying “I did what I needed to do to win” against Fernandez.

She eventually won a tight encounter in three sets – 6-4 4-6 7-5 – but the problems with her serve that brought the American second seed to tears at the US Open resurfaced in Beijing.

The 21-year-old two-time Grand Slam champion served nine double faults and was broken seven times in the match.

Both players struggled with their serve, with 15 breaks in total throughout, including eight in the final set – three on Gauff’s serve and five on Fernandez’s.

Gauff served twice for the match from 5-2 up, only to be broken on both occasions by the Canadian world number 25, but she gathered herself at 5-5 to break straight back and finally served out the match, sealing victory on her second match point.

“It was very physical, we were going back and forth,” Gauff said in her on-court interview.

“Obviously the third set I was playing pretty well. I know I could have served a little bit better, but I did what I needed to do to win today.”

Meanwhile, top seed Jannik Sinner will play unseeded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan in the quarter-finals of the men’s event in Beijing on Monday.

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Carlos Alcaraz said he had the “best physio in the world” after shrugging off concerns about an ankle injury to beat Zizou Bergs in the second round of the Japan Open.

The world number one had said he was “scared” after landing awkwardly during his first-round win over Sebastian Baez on Thursday.

But the 22-year-old Spaniard looked in little trouble as he cruised to a 6-4 6-3 victory over unseeded Belgian Bergs to set up a quarter-final against Brandon Nakashima in Tokyo.

“I could play, I would say, normally,” said Alcaraz, who won the US Open last month.

“I was worried about some movements on the court where I could feel the ankle, but in general I think I played a great match.

“I said before and I’m going to say it again – I have the best physio in the world, who I trust 100%, and the work he has done for the ankle I think has been great.”

Elsewhere, world number two Jannik Sinner was taken to three sets by 23-year-old French qualifier Terence Atmane in the China Open, winning 6-4 5-7 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals.

The Italian, who lost to Alcaraz in the final of the US Open but has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon this season, wobbled in the second set after twice leading by a break.

Atmane produced one of the surprise runs of the season to reach the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Masters in August, where he lost to Sinner.

But after powering his way to a decider in Beijing, he began to struggle with cramp, allowing Sinner to breeze through the third set to set up a last-eight match against Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.

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