TURIN, Italy (AP) — Defending champion Daniil Medvedev clinched his place in the ATP Finals semifinals after beating 2018 champ Alexander Zverev on Tuesday to make it two wins out of two in Turin.
Late entrant Jannik Sinner could join him after storming past Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets in the evening match, just hours after replacing Italian compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the tournament.
Medvedev, who won the U.S. Open in September for his first Grand Slam title, took just over 2 1/2 hours to beat Zverev 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (6) and move level with the German on a tour-leading 56 wins after a tense tiebreaker in the decisive set.
"Definitely one of the matches to remember," Medvedev said. "When you win 8-6 in the tiebreak in the third, it was 4-2 for him so I was like OK, he serves a few aces it's done. I made it 6-4 and I was like OK, that's my moment now. It's back to 6-6 ... Just an amazing feeling. Not actually much to say about the match, just amazing."
Medvedev leads Red Group and was assured of his place in the final four after Berrettini pulled out of the tournament. Berrettini retired against Zverev on Sunday with an abdominal injury and although he trained Tuesday he could not recover in time and was replaced by Sinner — the first alternate.