Alexander Zverev clinches semifinal berth, defeats Carlos Alcaraz at ATP Finals

Alexander Zverev secured his spot in the semifinals at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals on Friday, the two-time champion defeating Carlos Alcaraz, 7-6 (5), 6-4.

The No. 2 seed held off a valiant effort from an ailing Alcaraz, who has struggled with breathing issues throughout the week, to go 3-0 in the John Newcombe Group and book a semifinal clash with Taylor Fritz after 56 minutes on Center Court.

Zverev joins world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 5 seed Fritz in the semifinals, the final semifinalist to be determined by the match between No. 6 seed Casper Ruud and No. 8 seed Andrey Rublev. If Rublev defeats Ruud in straight sets, the second-place spot will come down to percentage of games won in round-robin play; if Ruud wins a set, he qualifies regardless of result.

While Zverev has already beaten both Ruud and Rublev, Alcaraz endured more mixed fortunes earlier in the week, taking a shock loss to the Norwegian to kick off the week amid news that the four-time Grand Slam champion was under the weather. Though he recovered enough to defeat Rublev in straight sets, he needed to defeat Zverev to give himself the best possible chance of qualifying for a second straight ATP Finals semi.

Alcaraz was decidedly in with a shot against Zverev, whom he’d beaten in both of their previous 2024 encounters—including a five-set victory in the finals of Roland Garros—but Zverev has long favored the end-of-year conditions, winning the title in 2018 and 2021.

The first set came down to a tiebreaker after Alcaraz saved seven break points in three service games, one being a set point down 5-6. Alcaraz nearly pulled off another comeback in the ensuing Sudden Death when he nailed a well-executed lob to retrieve a mini-break that had put him behind 2-5, but a lapse in concentration came on Zverev’s second set point and the Spaniard would have to play his first three-setter of the week in order to win.

That possibility looked considerably less likely as an overjoyed Zverev opened the second set with a first break of serve and saved two break chances to put himself eight points from victory.

Alcaraz, who added two majors to his Grand Slam tally in 2024 with back-to-back victories in Paris and London, put on a brave last stand as the match ticked toward the two-hour mark, but narrowly missed a backhand that would have given him two break points. A tumble at net from Alcaraz handed Zverev a match point, and he converted move over the finish line.

Awaiting him in the semifinals is Fritz, who finished second to Sinner in the Ilie Nastase Group. Fritz leads Zverev 6-5 in their head-to-head and has won their last three meetings: Wimbledon, US Open, and Laver Cup.