A spirited affair between Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti had the makings of a classic in the first set. The partisan crowd inside the Inalpi Arena was engaged, pulsating even. Musetti, meanwhile, fed off their intensity and showed off his elegant game early as the pair marched through four holds apiece.
Then it unraveled and Alcaraz seized on a moment to put Musetti on his heels. Once again it was big time tennis in big time moments that got Alcaraz over the top, this time for a career-best 70th win of the season.
The top-ranked Spaniard turned the screws in the tenth game of the opening set and engineered a break of serve on his second opportunity, leaving Musetti frustrated and the crowd ever so slightly deflated.
Musetti held his own in the set, playing inspired tennis, but had nothing to show for it. In the end he could not avoid dropping his seventh straight decision to Alcaraz, 6-4, 6-2, as the Spaniard booked his place as an undefeated semifinalist and also locked up the coveted year-end No.1 ranking for the second time, and first time since he did it as a teenager in 2022.
“The match was really important for me,” Alcaraz said. “Playing for the No.1. So it wasn’t easy at the beginning with the nerves. I had to be focused and I tried to handle that pressure the best I could. I’m just really happy with the match and the level that I played today, and obviously to be able to end the year at No.1.”
Alcaraz wins the Jimmy Connors Group undefeated and Alex de Minaur, who defeated Taylor Fritz on Thursday for his first ever win at the ATP Finals, goes through in second place.
Alcaraz will face the winner of Friday’s showdown between Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals, while De Minaur will face Sinner in Saturday’s semifinals.
By weathering the storm in the opening set, Alcaraz was able to take control of proceedings against Musetti. He would soon break for 3-1 in the second set and that would be all he needed on this day.
Alcaraz ripped through the second set, and finished the match by winning eight of the final nine games as Musetti faded away along with the boisterous cacophony that had been there at the start of the match.
The Spaniard finished with 26 winners to eight for Musetti and he broke serve three times from five opportunities.
Musetti did manage two break opportunities with Alcaraz serving at 3-1 in the second set, but they both went begging and the world No.1 completed his mission in a relatively comfortable 83 minutes.
“It was a really important goal for me to end the year as No.1, but obviously this tournament is really important for me – I’m excited about qualifying for the semifinals and giving myself to play another semifinal here. I would say part of the job is done, but the rest of the job is still going – I’m excited to keep going.”
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