Carlos Alcaraz was the big name missing when the last two semifinal spots were filled at the ATP Finals on Friday.
Alcaraz’s 7-6 (5), 6-4 loss to Alexander Zverev meant the French Open and Wimbledon champion — who has been sick this week — was eliminated from elite, eight-man tournament.
In Saturday’s semifinals, Zverev will meet Taylor Fritz and top-ranked Jannik Sinner will play Casper Ruud.
“My goal,” Alcaraz said, “(is) to be at the end (of tournaments) all the time. Every tournament that I’m going to play at least reach the semifinal, final. So I have to work. … In 2025, I hope to be a better player and (have) more consistency.”
Ruud advanced by beating Andrey Rublev 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.
Zverev finished with a perfect three victories to win his round-robin group. Ruud had two wins, Alcaraz had one and Rublev had none.
Alcaraz turned on the style in the final game but lost a crucial point when he couldn’t fully reach a Zverev passing attempt and ended up sprawled on the court.
“He turns into a different person. He really plays his best at the most important moments,” Zverev said. “The last game was the most entertaining game of the match.”
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner won the other group ahead of Taylor Fritz.
Breathing issues
Alcaraz again wore a pink nose strip after coming to Turin sick and having struggled with breathing issues in his opening loss to Ruud.
Zverev leapfrogged Alcaraz to No. 2 in the rankings this week and now leads their career meetings 6-5.
It was a measure of revenge for Zverev, who was beaten by Alcaraz in five sets in this year’s French Open final.
Zverev has bigger goals than reaching No. 2 for next year.
“It’s no secret, I’m searching for that Grand Slam title. I’m searching for world No. 1,” he said. “If it’s not Roland Garros, but it’s Australia, I’ll sign the paper right now.”
Alcaraz was already looking ahead to Malaga and next week’s Davis Cup finals, where he will play for Spain in Rafael Nadal’s swansong.
“I really want him to retire with a title,” Alcaraz said. “It’s going to be really, really emotional and a really special tournament for me.”
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Kyrgios set for return in Australia next month
Nick Kyrgios says he will make a return to competitive tennis at the Brisbane International beginning Dec. 29 after playing only one ATP Tour match in more than two years.
The 29-year-old Kyrgios has been mostly sidelined with career-threatening wrist and knee injuries since the 2022 U.S. Open quarterfinals.
That run came six weeks after reaching the Wimbledon final when he came closest to winning a Grand Slam singles championship before losing in four sets to Novak Djokovic.
Currently unranked, the one-time 13th-ranked player said he was excited to resume his career in front of home fans.
“Honestly, this is probably the best I’ve felt in two years,” Kyrgios told a Melbourne television station Friday. “I played that amazing year in 2022. Then at the finals in Wimbledon and U.S. Open, that’s when I started feeling some issues in my wrist. I had that wrist reconstruction and now I’m feeling amazing.”
Also stating his intentions to play in the 2025 Australian Open in Melbourne, Kyrgios said he’s planning to compete in the World Tennis League exhibition event in Abu Dhabi from Dec. 19-22, with the mixed team event also attracting players such as Iga Swiatek, Casper Ruud, Aryna Sabalenka, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev.
Kyrgios was a late withdrawal from the Australian Open in 2023 due to a knee injury that required surgery, before having to pull out of the French Open later that year with a foot issue.
A winner of seven titles on the ATP Tour, He subsequently tore a ligament in his wrist that also needed surgery with his last tour match a short-lived return to grass at Stuttgart in June 2023.
