Carlos Alcaraz up and running at ATP Finals after powering past troubled Andrey Rublev

World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz is up and running at the ATP Finals at Pala Alpitour after a straight-sets victory over a frustrated Andrey Rublev on Wednesday.

The Spaniard was beaten by Alexander Zverev on Monday in what was his debut appearance at the season-ending tournament.

Alcaraz, though, made no mistake in his second Red Group clash when he defeated the Russian fifth seed 7-5, 6-2 in 74 minutes to keep alive his hopes of reaching the semi-finals.

It also brought to an end his three-match losing streak having been beaten by Grigor Dimitrov in Shanghai, Roman Safiullin in Paris and then Zverev in Turin.

“It was a totally different match and level from me. This is the level I have to play if I want to give myself a chance in this amazing tournament,” said Alcaraz, who takes on third seed Daniil Medvedev in his final round-robin match.

“Yesterday was a good day for me in practise to find the level I needed to show today and I think I did pretty well. I am very happy with my level.”

Next up for the 20-year-old will be Medvedev who beat Rublev in his opening match and can seal his spot in the last four by defeating Zverev in straight sets, while the German will go through if he secures a win of any sort later on Wednesday.

“I need to relax. It is really, really fast the court,” said Alcaraz. “I need to hit first. You need to be more aggressive than your opponent. I think that is key if you want to have chances in this tournament.”

ALCARAZ FROM DOWNTOWN TURIN