BEIJING: Carlos Alcaraz sent Daniil Medvedev packing to reach his first China Open final on Tuesday as 595th-ranked Zhang Shuai added another chapter to her fairytale renaissance.
Second seed Alcaraz was in fine form to win 7-5, 6-3 and faces world number one Jannik Sinner or Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete for the men's crown in Beijing.
Medvedev, the Russian third seed, was looking to emulate his run to last year's title-decider, where he was beaten by the Italian Sinner.
But he showed signs of frustration at times against 21-year-old Alcaraz and twice required treatment on his left leg in the second set.
"I think I played really well. Obviously if I want to beat Daniil, I have to play really good tennis, high-quality tennis," said four-time major champion Alcaraz, who is yet to drop a set.
"I felt great on the court once again, so I'm really happy about it. I think I couldn't ask for a better semi-final."
After some high-quality tennis, the two players exchanged warm words over the net at the end.
Medvedev said he joked he should dress up as Botic van de Zandschulp, the unheralded Dutchman who stunned Alcaraz in the second round of the recent US Open.
"Maybe this can help," Medvedev told reporters.
"Today I played pretty well. I don't see how I could beat him today."
Alcaraz is looking to seal his 16th ATP Tour crown when the final takes place on Wednesday.
In the women's draw, home hope Zhang – one of the storylines of the tournament – rolled into the quarter-finals to make more history.
Her 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech was her fourth win in Beijing and all in straight sets – having come into the event after losing 24 singles matches in a row.
The barren run lasting more than 600 days was the second-longest on the WTA Tour in the Open Era, which began in 1968.
The 35-year-old Zhang, a former two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist who has been plagued by injury, said she had come close to quitting singles tennis before coming to Beijing.
"I had no idea how to win and I didn't want to lose another, especially with all the Chinese fans," she said.
"Walking back to the locker room, I didn't know if I should continue or not before this tournament."
The former top-25 player will face Spain's 19th-ranked Paula Badosa in the last eight.
Zhang is the lowest-ranked player to ever reach this stage of the China Open and struck a defiant pose – a tribute to Kylian Mbappe – after beating 31st-ranked Frech in front of a packed house on China's national day.
Former world number two Badosa dumped out US Open finalist Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-0 to make the second-seeded American the biggest casualty so far.
Pegula came into the WTA 1000 event as one of the form players on tour and having reached the final in New York last month, where she was beaten by Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka is the top seed in the Chinese capital and plays American 18th seed Madison Keys in the last 16.
Defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek is not involved because of "personal matters." - AFP