Carlos Alcaraz prevented his first defeat in the second group match at the ATP Finals with a show of strength. The 22-year-old won in Turin against the American Taylor Fritz 6:7 (2:7), 7:5, 6:3 and had to overcome some tricky situations in between. Only after 2:48 hours did Alcaraz complete the hard-fought victory.
He had to fight a lot more and “didn’t feel the ball so well” like the opening win against the Australian Alex de Minaur, said the six-time Grand Slam tournament winner. For him it was already the 50th win in the 73rd match against a top ten player. Only the tennis icons Jimmy Connors (69) and Boris Becker (71) needed fewer games for this milestone since 1973.
With a record of 2-0 wins, Alcaraz can book their semi-final ticket early if de Minaur wins against Lorenzo Musetti from Italy in the match that evening. The top two in each of the two groups of four advance to the semi-finals.
Alcaraz has that World ranking number 1 in sight
For Alcaraz, the prestigious tournament for the best players of the year in the Inalpi Arena is also about whether he or his long-term Italian rival Jannik Sinner ends the tennis year as number 1. A win in the last group game against Musetti is enough.