Carlos Alcaraz of Spain hits a return shot against Jannik Sinner of Italy during the men's singles semifinal match in the China Open tennis tournament at the Diamond Court in Beijing, on Oct. 3, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

BEIJING - Jannik Sinner of Italy beat top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (4), 6-1 and set up a final clash with Daniil Medvedev at the China Open here on Tuesday.

The sixth-seeded Italian converted five of eight break points he created to triumph in the 115-minute tie. World number two Alcaraz had problems on his second serve, winning five points from 18 attempts.

Earlier on Tuesday, Medvedev seized two crucial breaks to beat Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4, 6-3.

"Both of us are big servers so it came down to just a few opportunities and I managed to serve better when I had break points to save than he did," Medvedev said after the match.

Italy's Jannik Sinner hits a return to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz during their men's singles semifinal match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on Oct 3, 2023. (PHOTO / AFP)

In the women's competition, world number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus saved seven break points in the first set to eventually outlast British qualifier Katie Boulter 7-5, 7-6 (2) to advance to the third round. The top seed will next face Italy's Jasmine Paolini.

"In the key moments, I played a little bit better than her," Sabalenka said.

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Unseeded Chinese player Wang Xinyu made a big upset of the day by beating the 11th seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-4, 6-2.

Wang said she was mentally and tactically prepared for the match.

Russia's Daniil Medvedev hits a return during the men's singles semifinal against Germany's Alexander Zverev at 2023 China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on Oct 3, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

"Before the match I understand that she has really good defense, good returns. I need to be patient," she said.

"She would be standing further back. I would focus on my placement so she would be forced to run around. That would be more aggressive for her play," she added.

The second seed Iga Swiatek will meet her Polish compatriot Magda Linette in the third round after seeing off Frenchwoman Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 6-1.

The third seed Coco Gauff of the United Stated also made into the last 16 after beating Croatia's Petra Martic 7-5, 5-7, 7-6 (2).

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka serves to Britain's Katie Boulter during the women's singles second round match at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing on Oct 3, 2023. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

The fourth seed Jessica Pegula of the United States rallied past Russia's Anna Blinkova 6-7 (2), 6-2, 6-1. She will face Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko in the third round.

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Caroline Garcia of France, seeded ninth, will play against Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in the third round after holding off Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.