Carlos Alcaraz Secures a Spot in the Cincinnati Final by Beating a Fatigued Alexander Zverev

Carlos Alcaraz has advanced to the seventh consecutive tour-level final after defeating a fatigued Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday (local time) or Sunday WIB.

A 6-4, 6-3 victory set the stage for a final showdown against Jannik Sinner, a rematch of their championship match at Rome, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon this season.

The first set was determined by Alcaraz's outstanding performance in the final minutes, followed by Zverev's physical difficulties in the second set, leaving him to withdraw from the match with a medical timeout at 2-1 in the second set.

'It's never easy playing against someone you know is not in top condition. It becomes even more challenging when the opponent is a great player like Sascha, who is a great person off the court. We have a very good relationship.'

'We started the match really well, playing some great rallies and playing some great tennis,' said the Spanish player, who had been trailing 0-40 at 1-2 in the first set.

'But then suddenly he started to feel unwell. And then my focus shifted to how he was feeling, apart from focusing on myself and playing good tennis. It was a very difficult situation for me, and I'm just wishing the best for him.'

Alcaraz relentlessly targeted Zverev's forehand since the start of the match. Conversely, Zverev succeeded in reaching success with his own forehand to evade Alcaraz's preferred shot pattern.

From a 2-3 lead in the first set, Alcaraz discovered a new rhythm in his gameplay to seize the first set and break Zverev's serve for the second set.

The Spanish player returned the break with consecutive triple faults, but Zverev, hampered by his condition, couldn't respond.

His straightforward path to semifinal victory starkly contrasts with Alcaraz's previous victory over Rublev, which occurred 7-5 in the third set. Alcaraz also lost the second set to Damir Dzumhur in the first-round match.

By securing the seventh ATP Masters 1000 title (7-1) and the first on hard court since he claimed the Indian Wells title last year, Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 16 matches at the top level, dating back to his championship win in Monte Carlo and Rome.

According to the ATP win-loss index, Alcaraz owns a total record of 38-2 since early April.

At 22 years and three months old, Alcaraz is the third youngest player to reach nine finals in the ATP Masters 1000, following Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Alcaraz, who has faced Zverev 12 times, will next meet Sinner for the fourth time this year and the 14th time overall.

'I'm really looking forward to playing him again,' Alcaraz said, referring to their most recent encounter, which was a four-set loss at Wimbledon.

'We elevated our level to its highest and presented some fantastic tennis in the match. I'm ready to accept the challenge. I'm ready to see the mistakes I made in the last match and strive to become better in this one on Monday.'