Purple tape crisscrossed Carlos Alcaraz’s nose and focus covered his face.
You could have pinned an Apple Air Tag on Alcaraz and still struggled to track some of his acrobatic movements across Turin’s blue stage today.
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A dynamic Alcaraz denied two set points in the tiebreaker fending off Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6(8) at the ATP Finals.
Playing with a purple breathe right strip bridging his nose to help combat a cold, Alcaraz exuded more energy than he showed in his lethargic 6-1, 7-5 loss to Casper Ruud on Monday and dazzled with some crucial running strikes, including an all-court adventure mission in the tiebreaker.
The third-ranked Spaniard smacked 33 winners—19 more than Rublev, who played a fantastic second set before suffering his sixth straight ATP Finals loss.
Reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Alcaraz brought the fire and focus from the first ball today.
“I tried to be better than the first match—the first match against Casper in my mind I wasn’t focused enough to play tennis,” Alcaraz told Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj afterward. “I couldn’t stay focused on the match. And I tried to be better against Rublev.
“I tried to forget about everything. When I step on the court I want to play good tennis and show the people my tennis is still there, play some good rallies and I’m really, really happy with the way I played today.”
Serving with authority, Alcaraz served 70 percent, pumped 10 aces, dropped only seven points on first serve and did not face a break point in a 95-minute triumph.
"Out of all the matches we play each other, he played the best level today, even if we take our match last year here, our match in Madrid," Rublev said. "He played the best level today.
"Even the serve. Normally he goes a lot mixing with a lot of spin or something like that. Today he was going full serve flat and he was making high percent of the first serve."
The four-time Grand Slam champion needed a strong serving day. Rublev rolled through four straight service holds in the second set and won 24 of his 28 first-serve points in the second set.
Alcaraz evened his record at 1-1 in the John Newcombe Group and will face the man who surpassed him for world No. 2, Alexander Zverev, in his final round-robin match.
It was Alcaraz’s 12th Top 10 win of the season—he’s now 12-4 vs. Top 10 opponents in 2024—and he believes it’s an important step forward to conquering the one condition that’s challenged him: Winning indoors. Alcaraz said success beneath the ceiling is predicated on soung serving.
“I think I have to be consistency in the serve against Casper I didn’t serve well; today it was probably the best shot for me today,” Alcaraz said. “So being consistent [is key]...
“I consider myself, I play well on indoor courts, but I can be better. So I’m sure I’m gonna get that level—I’m gonna be one of the best players in the world on indoor court. I’m gonna win important tournaments on indoor. So it’s about time. It’s about getting experience, playing matches, playing tournaments and I get it for sure.”
The Spaniard’s speed around the court spooked Rublev at times. Rublev double faulted and overhit a forehand to face a third break point. Alcaraz belted a second-serve return down the middle, danced around his backhand then drilled a forehand to break in the seventh game.
Hammering a 134 mph ace out wide, Alcaraz followed up with a biting body serve into the hip as he backed up the break at 30 for a 5-3 lead.
The Rublev forehand is a damaging weapon—especially when he’s straddling the baseline dictating play—but that stroke betrayed him in the latter stages of the opening set.
Spreading the court with forehands to both corners, Alcaraz rallied from love-30 down in the ninth game. Alcaraz scored his second straight break, snatching a one-set lead when Rublev jerked a wild forehand wide.
Rushed by the Spaniard’s pace, Rublev rattled out 14 unforced errors in the opening set.
The second-serve disparity was clear in the first set: Alcaraz won six of seven second-serve points, while Rublev won just three of 10 second-serve points.
While Rublev sought a reset, Alcaraz amped up the pace.
Slashing three straight aces, Alcaraz threw down his second love hold of the day to start the second set.
Midway through the second set, Rublev withstood a eye-popping forehand pass down the line from Alcaraz to hold at deuce.
Rublev rapped a diagonal forehand pass to reach love-30 on the Spaniard’s serve in the fifth game. The Russian raced up quickly to a tame drop shot but bungled his reply into net.
If Rublev had handled that dropper with more care, he would have held break point. Instead, Alcaraz rallied from love-30 to hold for 3-2.
Still, Rublev lifted his level and was calling the shots on serve.
The eighth-ranked Rublev hit some of his most damaging drives in the second set, including whipping a forehand drive volley winner ending a love hold for 4-all. Rublev reeled off three consecutive love holds to level after 10 games.
Rublev rolled through 16 straight service points to force the tiebreaker.
Hammering the body serve to set up a forehand strike, Alcaraz took a 4-1 tiebreaker lead.
One of the most electrifying points of the tournament saw Alcaraz shift into amaze mode with running retrievals and a tricky lob. A leaping Rublev answered with a high backhand volley only to see Alcaraz lash a backhand pass down the line for 5-3.
Exploiting a sloppy stretch from the Spaniard, Rublev won three points in a row for set point at 6-5. Alcaraz saved it with the body serve and forehand winner. Alcaraz’s 10th ace earned him a match point, but Rublev repelled it with a serve winner.
The four-time Grand Slam champion saved a second set point painting the baseline with a ferocious forehand for 8-all.
Flashing a big forehand earned Alcaraz a second match point at 9-8 and he closed with a stretched forehand return.