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Carlos Alcaraz secures year-end world number one at ATP Finals in Turin after beating Lorenzo Musetti, with Alex de Minaur also reaching the semi-finals to face Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Finals (AP)
Carlos Alcaraz dethroned rival Jannik Sinner from the top of the standings on Thursday by securing the year-end world number one spot after defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 at the ATP Finals in Turin.
A double-Grand Slam winner this season, Alcaraz will surpass Sinner in the updated men’s rankings on Monday due to his victory over Musetti, which also confirmed his first place in the Jimmy Connors Group at the season-ending tournament.
Alcaraz, who has won 70 matches this season, could lose his semi-final on Saturday but will still finish 2025 as the top-ranked player, even if Sinner retains his Finals title on home turf.
However, Alcaraz seems determined to secure his first Finals triumph and appears poised for another showdown against Italy’s Sinner, who qualified in first place from the Bjorn Borg Group on Wednesday.
“It means the world to me to be honest, the year number one is always a goal,” said Alcaraz.
“To be honest at the beginning of the year I saw the number one really far away, Jannik being there winning almost every tournament he plays.
“For me it means everything. The work that we put in every day during the whole season, up and downs, comebacks from the tennis side. So I’m really proud of my team and myself.”
Alcaraz has won four of his five meetings with Sinner this season, all in finals of top-level tournaments, including two deciding Grand Slams.
The 22-year-old won one of the best matches in tennis history against Sinner to retain his French Open title in June but lost the Wimbledon final to the Italian.
On Thursday, he confidently overcame Sinner’s compatriot Musetti, who has been eliminated and will not participate in the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna next week.
A passionate crowd cheered on Musetti, but it was to no avail for the world number nine, who only qualified for the Finals due to Novak Djokovic’s last-minute withdrawal and clearly struggled in the second set.
“I was tired, I knew it would be hard to recover from the battles of the last few months and above all the last few weeks… I needed a miracle today,” said Musetti, who entered the Finals after losing the Athens final to Djokovic on Sunday.
Alex De Minaur Through Too
Heading into the semi-finals with Alcaraz is Alex de Minaur, who secured his place with a straight-sets win against Taylor Fritz, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 earlier on Thursday.
Australia’s De Minaur had to win in two sets to have any chance of advancing from the group, and he will now face Sinner in the semi-finals.
Hard court specialist De Minaur won his 43rd match of the season on the surface, the most on the men’s tour, and was too much for Fritz once he prevailed in the first set tie-break.
“Couple days ago was one of the toughest days I’ve had in my career. I was in a very, very dark spot. I could tell you that I hated the sport,” De Minaur told reporters.
“Here we are two days later and I’m feeling great about myself. It’s incredible.”
De Minaur revealed that a personal battle after his defeat to Musetti on Tuesday helped his mindset going into the match with Fritz.
“Regardless of the result today, I had made peace with myself. That was a big, big moment. I knew the way I wanted to play. I was going to commit to it from the first point to the last,” he said.
“I was okay with the result not going my way. I had made peace with that. I just wanted to play my way.”
Defeat for Fritz in one hour and 35 minutes ended the American’s participation in this year’s edition of the Finals.
(With inputs from Agencies)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes cricket content, havin… Read More
November 14, 2025, 07:24 IST
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