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IMAGE: Germany’s Alexander Zverev shakes arms with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz after profitable their group stage match on the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, on Monday. {Photograph}: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters
A sluggish Carlos Alcaraz was overwhelmed 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 by Alexander Zverev on the his debut on the ATP Finals on Monday to proceed his end-of-year hunch with a 3rd straight defeat.
The 20-year-old world quantity two, who missed final 12 months’s version of the season-ending championship on account of damage, put the blame for his loss squarely on the quick indoor floor on the cavernous Pala Alpitour in Turin.
“I do not know why they put this floor on the finish of the 12 months,” the Spaniard mentioned in his post-match information convention.
“All of the tournaments we’ve performed on laborious courtroom are so, so, gradual after which we come right here to the Masters (Cup) and so they put this courtroom so, so quick.
“I do not perceive why they’ve set the pace so excessive for this event when we’ve by no means performed on a floor like this all 12 months.”
Alcaraz is seeking to turn out to be the youngest ATP Finals champion since Pete Sampras in 1991 and, regardless of the loss, nonetheless has an opportunity to advance to the knockout phases from the round-robin Pink Group.
“This event is totally different for a lot of issues, and one in every of them is that it means that you can undergo to the semi-finals regardless of dropping the primary match,” Alcaraz posted on Instagram.
The Spaniard’s subsequent match is on Wednesday towards Andrey Rublev, who went down 6-4, 6-2 to Daniil Medvedev in his Pink Group opener on Monday.
The Russian duo have been anticipated to duke it out in one other epic showdown after assembly within the ultimate of the Dubai Open and the quarter-finals of the US Open earlier this 12 months.
Fifth ranked Rublev, nevertheless, fell aside after dropping the primary set and did not put up a lot resistance as Medvedev eased to a 7-2 profession report in matches towards his compatriot.
“I felt actually good and was capable of get the higher hand quick,” Medvedev mentioned.
“I prefer to play aggressive on my serve, however Rublev performs in such a method that he would not give me every other possibility as a result of I haven’t got the facility of Alcaraz or (Stefanos) Tsitsipas on my forehand.”
The motion continues on Tuesday with Tsitsipas taking over Holger Rune, and world primary Novak Djokovic dealing with Jannik Sinner.
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