Alcaraz Overcomes Fritz to Maintain Year-End No. 1 Bid at ATP Finals

Turin, Nov 12: Carlos Alcaraz kept his hopes of a second consecutive year-end No. 1 ranking alive with a thrilling comeback victory over Taylor Fritz at the ATP Finals in Turin on Tuesday. The five time Grand Slam champion recovered from a set down to triumph 6-7 (2/7), 7-5, 6-3 in the Jimmy Connors Group, marking his second straight win in the round-robin stage.

The win brings Alcaraz within one victory of reclaiming the top spot in the ATP rankings for 2025. He can secure the year-end No. 1 with a win against Lorenzo Musetti in his final group match on Thursday.

“I’m really happy that I was able to come back, find my good tennis,” Alcaraz said. “I just tried to make the most of the opportunities he gave me. We played some great tennis, with some fantastic points.”

Alcaraz, who was briefly replaced as world No. 1 by Jannik Sinner following the Paris Masters, can confirm the top ranking with another win in the group stage. For Sinner to retain the year-end No. 1, he must defend his ATP Finals title unbeaten.

The Spaniard now leads Fritz 5-1 in their head-to-head encounters, with Fritz’s sole victory coming at the Laver Cup in September. Fritz, after a strong win over Musetti, will face Alex de Minaur in his final group match to keep his semifinal hopes alive.

The match saw both players trading heavy groundstrokes and long rallies. Fritz took the first set in a tiebreak 7-2 after a grueling 70-minute battle. The second set was tightly contested until Alcaraz capitalized on Fritz’s unforced errors at 5-5 to claim the set 7-5. In the decider, Alcaraz broke Fritz in the sixth game and held his nerve to close out the match 6-3.

With this victory, Alcaraz not only strengthened his bid for the year-end No. 1 but also inched closer to securing a place in the ATP Finals semifinals. A win for Alex de Minaur over Musetti later tonight will officially confirm his spot in the knockout stage.