Tennis, Asian semifinals: Djokovic ahead of Medvedev, Alcaraz through to the final in Tokyo

Two Asian ATP 500 tournaments are settling their verdicts at this hour. In Beijing, in the semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev, the Serb took the first set 7-5. The match was still underway at the time this information was gathered, with the final result not yet available.

In Tokyo, meanwhile, the final picture is already complete on one side of the draw: Carlos Alcaraz got past fellow countryman Jaume Munar in three sets, securing his place in the Japanese tournament’s final. The Spaniard thus reaches the final after having to come back in the match against his compatriot, a sign of a non-linear path despite the favorable outcome.

On the other side of the Tokyo draw, the semifinal between Hubert Hurkacz and Alex de Minaur ended in an unusual way: the Polish player retired during the second set, thereby handing the Australian his pass to the final. An outcome that deprives the public of a complete contest and raises questions about Hurkacz’s physical condition, not further specified at this time by the available sources.

The double Asian front confirms the dense end-of-season scheduling of the men’s circuit, with tournaments overlapping and forcing the top players to manage close-together match loads. In Beijing, the clash between Djokovic and Medvedev represents a circuit classic, a contest between two players who have known each other for years and who at this stage of the season arrive with different objectives: ranking points and qualification for the year-end Finals.

In Tokyo, the final will feature Alcaraz and de Minaur, with the Spaniard presenting himself as the favorite on paper but coming off a round that required three sets to be resolved. For de Minaur, reaching the final comes under particular circumstances, tied to his opponent’s retirement rather than to a victory on court.

It should be noted that the information reported here currently comes from a single source (Sky Sport); no independent confirmation is currently available for the scoring details and for the circumstances of Hurkacz’s retirement.

The Beijing tournament still remains to be completed in its ongoing semifinal, while the Tokyo tournament has already delivered one of the two finalists through Hurkacz’s retirement in the second set.