Daniil Medvedev booked his place in the last four of the ATP Finals on Wednesday after beating Alexander Zverev 7-6 (9/7), 6-4, while Carlos Alcaraz cruised past troubled Andrey Rublev to get his campaign up and running.
World number three Medvedev had to win in straight sets to claim a spot in the semi-finals in Turin with a match to spare and he saw off big-hitting German Zverev in a stodgy Red Group encounter.
He faces Carlos Alcaraz, a 7-5, 6-2 winner earlier in the day, in his final match and has the world number two's last-four hopes in his hands. "I hope that I feel well tomorrow and ready to fight because this tournament is tricky," said Medvedev. "I'm into the semis but you want to keep the rhythm and against Carlos...
if we play at night you don't want to finish 7-6 in the third (set) at midnight. I just hope I can show my best tennis." Medvedev has a long-running rivalry with Zverev, the pair not getting on off-court, and he has now prevailed in five of their six matches this season.