Alcaraz saves match points to beat Fritz; Jodar confirms last spot for ATP Finals
Paris, Nov 7 (IANS) Carlos Alcaraz dug deep to defeat a stern challenge from Taylor Fritz, 6-7(10), 7-5, 6-3, and march into the Paris Masters semifinals.
Alcaraz’s win ended Fritz’s hopes of qualifying for the ATP Finals and instead ensured that his countryman Rafael Jodar booked the final spot for the year-end tournament.
Fritz, 11th in the ATP Live Race to Turin before his clash with Alcaraz, had to beat the Spaniard to leapfrog the ninth-placed Jodar and book his spot in the ATP Finals, which will take place at the Inalpi Arena in Turin, Italy. Jodar had already crashed out of Paris in the round of 32.
Now Jodar, who is having his first full-time tour-level debut this season, is the final player to earn qualification. Earlier, Frances Tiafoe became the seventh player to qualify for the year-end event after Tommy Paul lost his chance with a defeat against Ben Shelton in the Paris quarters.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz produced a remarkable comeback in the match against Fritz to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of the season. He was 36-7 (10) and 3-5 down in the match and was facing a match point on his serve before he won a brilliant point to hold for 4-5.
The Spaniard then had to save a match point on Fritz’s serve in the next game before breaking him to level 5-5. Alcaraz raised his game when it mattered the most, as he won the next two games to take the things in the decider and ultimately prevailed.
“I tried not to let myself down in the difficult moments in the second set,” Alcaraz said after the match. “I tried to stay strong mentally and save those break points and match points. I would say 3-5 serving; that game we played incredible tennis. That point (to hold for 4-5) caused the people to stand up and bring the energy into the match.
“I used the people and the energy and gave them what they really wanted to watch, and I am really happy to play for one and a half hours more to entertain them. The feeling I have today is unmatched,” he added.
He will now be facing Casper Ruud in the semifinal as he looks for his maiden Paris title.
Meanwhile, the ATP Finals line-up is now confirmed, as Jodar and Tiafoe have joined the likes of Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz, Shelton, Daniil Medvedev, Flavio Cobolli and Arthur Fils in the eight-man final, which will take place between November 15 and 22.
–IANS
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