There was some uncertainty as to how the second Group match to be played on Thursday was going to develop after Novak Djokovic only edged to a win earlier in the day.
Jannik Sinner showed he is plenty professional by coming through another tough three setter to eliminate Holger Rune and he does have a day of rest between the Semi Final to recover.
While he is resting, Jannik Sinner will find out who that Semi Final opponent is on Friday with one more place still to confirmed and that could be decided as soon as the first match is played. A Carlos Alcaraz win would be enough, but Alexander Zverev is still hoping for a Daniil Medvedev favour, which would mean having an opportunity to earn his own spot in the Semi Final in the Evening Session.
Carlos Alcaraz - 1.5 games v Daniil Medvedev: Two wins and both in straight sets has moved Daniil Medvedev through to the ATP World Tour Finals Semi Final on Saturday and so you have to wonder how much motivation he brings onto the court. The chance to beat Carlos Alcaraz and potentially knock him out of the tournament will offer some motivation, but Daniil Medvedev will not want to have to exert too much energy to do that knowing he has a Semi Final spot wrapped up.
It is not easy for a tennis player to come out and deliberately play poorly, but you would question how much Daniil Medvedev is going to want to run in this tough Group match. Even a straight sets defeat is not going to impact his place in the next Round, although there is the question mark about whether he wins the Group that is yet to be settled.
Ultimately he will know his potential Semi Final opponent with the other Group being completed on Thursday evening, but Daniil Medvedev has always indicated that he is a player that only concentrates on what is best for him.
The win over Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open should actually provide plenty of ammunition for the World Number 2 as he looks to reach the Semi Final for the first time at this event.
His comfortable win over Andrey Rublev means Carlos Alcaraz has some control about his own future at the tournament.
Winning in straight sets means Carlos Alcaraz wins the Group and Alexander Zverev is unable to Qualify, although any win for the Spaniard is going to be good enough to progress without having to worry about what happens later in the day.
The performance in the win over Andrey Rublev is encouraging and Carlos Alcaraz will feel that he deserved more when losing to Daniil Medvedev in New York City.
Prior to that, Alcaraz dominated two matches against Medvedev, including on the hard courts of Indian Wells, and the Spaniard may be willing to work that much harder than his opponent in this final Group match. Ultimately that can make the difference on the day and Carlos Alcaraz can certainly keep Daniil Medvedev on the back foot with his serving as long as he can reach the levels shown against Medvedev's compatriot.
Daniil Medvedev is a quality hard court player and loves the indoor conditions too.
However, the lean has to be with Carlos Alcaraz who has should showcase a lot more desire in this match compared with Daniil Medvedev. This should be a tight match, but those margins to determine the winner can be edged by Alcaraz, who has more to play for, and he can earn a priceless victory to move into the Semi Finals.
Andrey Rublev v Alexander Zverev: Straight sets losses can be very hard to overcome in the World Tour Finals Group Stage, but most would anticipate that two wins would be enough to take them through to the Semi Final.
This may not be the case in either Group this year so Alexander Zverev is likely going to have someone keeping an eye on the Day Session match in this Group. Any win for Carlos Alcaraz would mean the straight sets loss to Daniil Medvedev would have eliminated Zverev before taking to the court for his final match.
You could see in the body language of his defeat to Medvedev that Alexander Zverev knew the importance of losing in straight sets hours after Carlos Alcaraz had beaten Andrey Rublev in straight sets.
That defeat has eliminated Andrey Rublev from reaching the Semi Final for a second season in a row as he prepares to play his final match of the season before turning attention to building and improving ahead of the January start for the 2024 Tour.
Andrey Rublev has shown frustration in his two losses and he has been well beaten by both Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz.
A run to the Final and reaching two other Semi Finals between the US Open and the World Tour Finals should have given Andrey Rublev plenty of belief, but he continues to struggle to impose himself on the other top players on the Tour.
However, Rublev has won all three matches played against Alexander Zverev this season having previously lost all five matches played on the Tour against the German. The last of those wins came last month in Vienna on an indoor hard court and there may be a good reason to back the underdog to upset Alexander Zverev in this last Group match.
In the two hard court matches played between Rublev and Zverev in 2023, the Russian has held 96% of his service games compared with the latter's 75% mark. Andrey Rublev did save all 6 Break Points played in that clash in Vienna, but those were only earned in two service games and Rublev actually created 10 Break Points of his own on that day.
He doesn't have anything to gain from this final match, but Andrey Rublev has performed like a player willing to give his all each time he comes onto the court. With the potential Alexander Zverev elimination already confirmed by the time the two come out on the court, Andrey Rublev can maintain his current positive run against the German and win this match as the underdog.
MY PICKS: Carlos Alcaraz - 1.5 Games @ 1.83 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev @ 2.20 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Andrey Rublev @ 2.20 Bet Victor (2 Units)
World Tour Finals Update: 7-1, + 8.96 Units (16 Units Staked, + 56% Yield)
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