Carlos Alcaraz opened the ATP’s season-ending championships, and the battle for the year-end No 1 ranking, in ideal fashion as he confidently navigated a turbulent opening set before easing to a 7-6 (5), 6-2 win against the seventh seed, Alex de Minaur, in Turin.
Alcaraz, the top seed, is attempting to win the ATP Finals for the first time and hold off Jannik Sinner to finish the season as the top-ranked player. Despite ceding significant ground to the Italian in recent weeks by losing to Cameron Norrie in his opening match at the Paris Masters, which Sinner won, Alcaraz still holds a clear advantage this week since the Italian is defending his title from last year. The Spaniard must win all three of his round-robin group stage matches or reach the final in order to secure the top ranking.
