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Daniil Medvedev told Carlos Alcaraz that he must try to dress like Botic van de Zandschulp after the Spaniard reached the China Open final with a 7-5, 6-3 win in Beijing.

Alcaraz was beaten by Van de Zandschulp in the second round of the US Open last month in one of the biggest upsets of the season.

But the 21-year-old has been in top form since then and delivered another entertaining performance, beating Medvedev and reaching the China Open final for the first time.

Alcaraz has now won his last four meetings with Medvedev and has dominated matches since losing to the Russian in the semi-finals of the US Open in New York last year.

After Alcaraz defeated Medvedev for the third time this year, the world No. 5 covered his mouth as he shook the Spaniard’s hand and said something that made him laugh and shake his head.

And in his post-match press conference, Medvedev explained: “I told Carlos in the next game that I was going to dye my hair blonde and put ‘Botic’ here (and draw a line across his chest).

“Maybe this can help. Like I said, I played pretty well today. I don’t know how I could beat him today, on any given day.

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“Next game I have to try something. Maybe throw him off a bit. But of course it’s a joke.”

Alcaraz, who has won eight games in a row since the US Open, will face world No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final.