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Alcaraz, who struggled with a stomach issue against Ruud, was back to his physical, energetic best in his 96-minute win against Rublev.

“I surprised myself,” said Alcaraz, when asked about his performance despite feeling under the weather. “The way that I played today from the baseline, with my serve. I was really calm. I just tried to be focused on my game and what I had to do and forget about that I’m not feeling well and that I’m sick.

“Once you step on the court, you have to forget everything, your struggles outside the court, and you try to put your focus on hitting a good forehand, a good backhand, and making good tactics against the opponent. I thought I did that pretty well, and surprised myself.”

Sporting a pink nasal strip to aid his breathing, Alcaraz took control of the match by reeling off four consecutive games from 2-3 in the first set. He was assisted in that sequence by some wayward hitting from Rublev, who regained his composure to compete well in a second set featuring no break points, but was nonetheless unable to deny Alcaraz a straight-sets victory.

The Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion kept his cool in the second-set tie-break, saving set points at 5/6 and 7/8 before closing out victory. The Spaniard’s previous victory against the World No. 8 also came in a Nitto ATP Finals group-stage encounter, at the 2023 edition of the prestigious season finale.

Even when up against one of the ATP Tour’s most powerful baseline hitters, Alcaraz’s ability to win points from all corners of the court stood out. He struck 31 winners to Rublev’s 14, a tally which included plenty of trademark drop shots and scintillating forehand passes from deep.

“I feel like in the last matches I couldn’t hit good drop shots, and I was thinking, ‘What’s going on?’,” Alcaraz said. “My style, my game, it’s about playing these kinds of shots and enjoying the game. So I tried to do it today. I felt pretty good from the baseline too, running.

“I had many options on my mind. If I move well, run well from the baseline, I have more options. I’m really happy that ‘Option A’ of just running and playing good points from the baseline, I made it happen.”

Alcaraz was also dominant on serve en route to rejuvenating his bid for a fifth tour-level title of 2024. He did not face a break point and won 84 per cent (37/44) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Next up for the 21 year-old as he chases a Turin semi-final spot for the second consecutive year is a clash against Alexander Zverev. As well as potentially deciding who advances to the ATP Finals knockout stage, that clash could also be crucial in the battle to finish the year as world number-two. 

Zverev is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 505 points clear of third-placed Alcaraz.