Carlos Alcaraz can no longer be displaced from the top position in the ATP world rankings this year. It is an emotional victory against his great rival Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz shouted out a loud “Vamos” and was celebrated by the fair Turin audience. The Spanish tennis star has added another milestone to his career before the decisive games at the ATP Finals.
Thanks to his 6:4, 6:1 against Lorenzo Musetti, Alcaraz can no longer take away the top position in the world rankings at the end of the season. He had already booked his semi-final ticket. After 83 minutes, Alcaraz converted his third match point.
Alcaraz was nervous
“The match was very important for me. Playing for number one made me nervous at first. I’m very happy with how the match went and my level,” said Alcaraz and added with a view to the rest of the tournament: “Part of the job is done, but the rest of the work still lies ahead of me.”
With his victory, he not only ensured the elimination of Italian crowd favorite Musetti, but also ensured that Alex de Minaur reached the semi-finals. A single two-set win against Taylor Fritz in the afternoon was enough for the Australian to survive the group phase.
Musetti was tired
The overall impressive game became really spectacular for the first time when the score was 5:4 for Alcaraz in the first round. First, Musetti shook the arena he had lost by winning a point after an incredible rally, then Alcaraz hit back and, after some back and forth, grabbed the break to win the set. Afterwards, Musetti, who had moved up to the tournament after a long fight, was tired.
Alcaraz has now officially kept his rival Jannik Sinner at bay in the race for points in the ATP ranking – regardless of the further course of the tournament in which the two can still meet each other. Alcaraz achieved the feat of ending the season as number one for the only time so far in 2022 – at that time as the first teenager in history. “Of course that’s the crowning achievement when you can end the year as number one,” said German tennis icon Boris Becker on Sky.
Zverev would be more possible Semifinal opponents
Alcaraz is Alexander Zverev’s possible semi-final opponent. The German will fight on Friday (not before 8:30 p.m.) against the Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime to take part in the big game on Saturday.