ATP Finals: Zverev advances to semis; Alcaraz waits to see if he qualifies for last four

Zverev won the group, finishing perfect with three victories. Alcaraz and Casper Ruud have a win each and Andrey Rublev has none.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev, left, smiles with Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz at the end of the singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals at the Inalpi Arena, in Turin, Italy, Friday, Nov. 15, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

Alexander Zverev is in the semifinals. Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, needs to wait to see if he will reach the last four at the ATP Finals.

Zverev beat Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-4 on Friday at the season-ending event for the year’s top eight players.

Zverev won the group, finishing perfect with three victories. Alcaraz and Casper Ruud have a win each and Andrey Rublev has none.

Alcaraz needs Rublev to beat Ruud in the final group match later. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner won the other group ahead of Taylor Fritz.

So, Zverev will face Fritz in one semifinal and Sinner will likely face Ruud or Alcaraz in the other.

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.