Alcaraz Clinches ATP Year-End No. 1 With Musetti Win In Turin

Carlos Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz (photo: Giampiero Sposito/FITP)

TURIN/WASHINGTON, November 13, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz arrived at the Nitto ATP Finals Thursday evening inside Inalpi Arena just one win away from clinching this year’s ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF trophy. The 22-year-old Spaniard needed only to defeat No. 9 Lorenzo Musetti for the seventh time – including four times this season – and he had his eye on the prize from the outset of their Jimmy Connors Group match.

The stakes were high. While it wasn’t too tall of an order to achieve, Musetti did have the support of a legion of Italian fans, who filled the arena’s 13,000 seats to capacity and created an atmosphere in which they cheered passionately for their favorite son against the popular and charismatic Alcaraz.

However, Alcaraz brought his experience of playing in big-time tennis matches – winning six majors can attest to that – and with a chance to win 70 matches in a single season for the first time, he was dialed in. In short order, the 22-year-old Spaniard took care of business. He defeated Musetti 6-4, 6-1 in one hour and 23 minutes for his third win of the week in Turin. With it, Alcaraz achieved ATP Year-end No. 1 status for the second time in his career following his success in 2022.

By winning, Alcaraz continued a remarkable 55-4 run since the start of April, including title performances in Monte-Carlo, Rome, Roland-Garros, Queen’s Club, Cincinnati, US Open and Tokyo. He equaled his best result at the ATP Finals, when he reached the 2023 semifinals.

“The match was really important for me, playing for Year-End No. 1,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview. “It wasn’t easy at the beginning with the nerves. I tried to handle that pressure the best I could, so I’m just really happy with the level I played and to be able to end the year as the No. 1.”

In starting out going 10-for-10 in winning his first-serve points, Alcaraz began the match well – he was extremely focused and hungry – and got stronger as it progressed. Time and again, he came up with big-shot moments that tamed the 23-year-old Musetti. Alcaraz closed out a nine-minute-plus 10th game that stretched across 14 points and broke Musetti on his second opportunity to win the opening set. Alcaraz struck 14 winners – 10 of them from his forehand side.

Then, without letting up, Alcaraz continued to apply pressure to Musetti at every opportunity. He gained three break points during Musetti’s second service game and converted the first one – breaking at love – to go ahead 3-1. From there, Alcaraz gained another set of break points in the sixth game and gained a double-break advantage at his first opportunity to grab a commanding 5-1 lead. Serving for the match, Alcaraz closed out win No. 70 in his 78th match of the season. It came on his third match-point opportunity and it was with an emphatic service winner. 

“I think I managed to start really well and to serve big. That was the only chance I have for trying to deal with Carlos’ game,” Musetti said during his post-match news conference. “Tonight I think he also served pretty well. He was managing to put me in a position where I had to run a lot and be real aggressive.

“At the end, of course, the physical part was tough to deal with. Of course, all the credit to Carlos, who played a really incredible tennis. Every time he surprise me more. Hopefully one day I will have my revenge.”

Alcaraz (3-0) finished with 26 winners – including 17 from his forehand side – and made 21 unforced errors, compared to eight winners and 18 unforced errors from Musetti (1-2). Alcaraz won 83 percent (30 of 36) of his first-serve points, saved both break points he faced, converted three of five break-point opportunities and won 18 of 19 net-point exchanges. He outpointed Musetti 64-44.

“It was a really important goal to end the year as the No. 1, but this tournament is really important for me,” Alcaraz said. “I’m excited about qualifying for the semifinals and hopefully getting to the final. We will see. Part of the job is done … but I’m excited to keep going.”

Undefeated in group play, Alcaraz can now look forward to the weekend with an opportunity of possibly playing World No. 2 Jannik Sinner once again for a big prize – if both of them win their semifinal matches. It would be a spectacular way to end the 2025 season.

De Minaur knocks out Fritz to keep semifinal hopes alive

Earlier Thursday, with both last year’s finalist Taylor Fritz (1-1) and Alex de Minaur (0-2) still in play to advance out of the Jimmy Connors Group, Fritz needed to win to guarantee finishing the season as American No. 1 for fifth consecutive year and to reach his third Nitto ATP Finals semifinal as many appearances.

On the other side of the net, de Minaur, who leads the ATP Tour in hard-court wins this season (43), looked for his first win at the event to avenge last year’s round-robin loss to Fritz. It was a must-win situation for him following a heartbreaking loss to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday in order to have any shot at advancing out of group play into the semifinals.

Guess what? De Minaur rose to the occasion and silenced Fritz. Later on, after No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz defeated No. 9 Musetti, it meant de Minaur would advance to the last four along with Alcaraz.

Throughout their one-hour, 34-minute elimination match, de Minaur was the hungrier player, while Fritz played anxious. The Australian No. 1 beat Fritz, 7-6 (3), 6-3, to keep his hopes alive of reaching the semifinals. After the pain and anguish of losing to Musetti two days ago, de Minaur ultimately was rewarded for his hustle and overall effort against Fritz, who was a finalist last year in Turin.

“It was a tough pill to swallow,” De Minaur said during his on-court interview, commenting on the Musetti loss. “I didn’t do much. I didn’t overthink today. I just went out and committed to what I needed to do. There were some tough moments out there but, ultimately,  I continued to back myself. Whether it worked or didn’t, I was going to leave everything out there today and I ended up with a really good match from the start until the end.”

Although Fritz saved a match point by brilliantly hitting a 15th-shot backhand winner, down 2-5 (30-40), ultimately, de Minaur prevailed on his second match-point opportunity in the next game. It was the Sydneysider’s first-ever win at the ATP Finals after losing five straight going back to last year’s group play.

“I have dealt with a fair bit of heartbreak recently. It was good to finally get a win here in Turin,” De Minaur said, after securing his first Top-10 win of the season outside of team events. “I have worked really hard so it was good to get some positive feedback or a positive reward for the hard work, so I am very happy with the performance today. … I just focused on what I needed to do. I put my best foot forward today and I’m pleased with that.”

Later, during his post-match news conference, de Minaur, smiling, added: “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. Here we are two days later and I’m feeling great about. It’s incredible.

“But more than anything, 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. I was okay with the result not going my way. I had made peace with that. I just wanted to play my way.

“More than anything, it felt good to play on my terms.”

De Minaur finished off Fritz by winning 83 percent (30 of 36) of his first-serve points, converted two of four break points and outpointed him 73-62. He hit 24 winners to 28 unforced errors and took advantage of 33 unforced errors by Fritz, who mustered just 17 winners. De Minaur, who improved to 56-23 this season, has now defeated Fritz in six of the 11 career meetings.

Meanwhile, Fritz ends his season after going 53-23 and winning two titles, at Stuttgart and Eastbourne.

Around Inalpi Arena

In doubles, defending ATP Finals champions and sixth-seeded Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz of Germany pulled out a match tie-break over the No. 7-seeded Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori to win 7-6 (5), 4-6, 13-11 for their only win this week in Turin. 

Krawietz and Puetz (1-2), who lost their first two matches in the Peter Fleming Group, saved a match point down 10-9, then won on their third match-point opportunity after missing their chances while ahead 9-8 and 11-10 against Bolelli and Vavassori (2-1), who had already clinched a berth in Saturday’s semifinals by winning their first two matches earlier in the week.

Bolelli and Vavassori (38-20), who are the first Italian team to reach the ATP Finals semifinals, combined to hit 10 aces and saved all five break points they faced. Points were even at 78 each.

Krawietz and Puetz ended their 2025 season at 42-18 and won titles at Halle and Shanghai.

With a semifinal berth at stake in the other match-up, Wimbledon champions and No. 1 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain (2-1) defeated Roland-Garros and US Open champions No. 3 seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina (1-2), 6-3, 7-5, in an hour and 15 minutes for second place Thursday evening.

Cash and Glasspool, the winners of seven titles this season, combined to hit eight aces, won 81 percent (34 of 42) first-serve points and converted two of five break points. They outpointed Granollers and Zeballos 65-48.

Having already clinched the prize for Year-End ATP Doubles No. 1, Cash and Glasspool will play an all-British semifinal on Saturday against the No. 1 team from the John McEnroe Group, Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski (2-0).

Thursday’s ATP Finals results

Friday’s ATP Finals order of play

By the numbers

Of players born in the 2000s, Jannik Sinner has the most Nitto ATP Finals wins with 12, followed by Carlos Alcaraz with 5. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Lorenzo Musetti and Holger Rune each have 1.

“Quotable …”

“The score was 6-4, 6-3, but in my opinion, my humble opinion, I felt like the match was closer than the score maybe says. I thought it was a very high-level match. I thought especially from the baseline we played very well.

“This is how it is sometimes. Sometimes when he’s having a day like this where he’s serving unbelievable. … His biggest strength is of course how he plays from the baseline, how he moves, how he hits forehands, how he hits backhands.”

– World No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany, during his post-match news conference Wednesday, after losing his fifth-straight match to World No. 2 Jannik Sinner.

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