Alcaraz defeats De Minaur in ATP Finals opening match at Turin
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz launched his campaign for a maiden ATP Finals trophy with a 7-6(5) 6-2 triumph over Australian Alex de Minaur in their round-robin encounter at the season-ending championships in Turin on Sunday.
Alcaraz secured his first opening ATP Finals victory despite De Minaur's resilient performance, where the Australian rallied from 4-1 down to push the opening set to a tiebreak before the Spaniard ultimately prevailed.
The competitors exchanged service breaks at the beginning of the second set, but Alcaraz broke twice more to establish another 4-1 advantage and this time there was no resurgence despite De Minaur's determined effort in the opening match of the Jimmy Connors Group.
Both players aimed to surpass last year's performances, where Alcaraz dropped two of his three round-robin matches in straight sets while De Minaur fell in all three group encounters. Alcaraz had suffered defeat in the opening match at his previous two appearances.
"It was a really difficult match," said Alcaraz.
"On this surface, Alex makes the most of the speed of the ball, he's super fast and really difficult on return. I'm just really happy to get through this really difficult challenge."
Alcaraz gains momentum after first-set tiebreak
Following his tiebreak success, Alcaraz displayed greater confidence, cupping his hand to his ear to encourage the applause that followed him winning a lengthy, thrilling rally to hold serve and establish a 5-1 lead, leaving De Minaur without a path to recovery.
Alcaraz remains in contention to conclude the year as world number one, and in Turin he must advance to the final with at least one round-robin victory or dominate his round-robin matches to secure himself the distinction for the second time.
Italian Jannik Sinner needs to defend his title to maintain any possibility of finishing the year in top spot.
One of the most enthusiastic reactions in the venue occurred when Sinner appeared in a commercial on the large screens, but the crowd will need to wait until Monday to witness their favourite in action.
Later on Sunday, German two-time champion Alexander Zverev faces American Ben Shelton, making his first ATP Finals appearance, in the Bjorn Borg Group.
The ATP Finals, which showcases the top eight singles players and doubles teams in the world, boasts a record prize pool of $15.5 million and offers 1,500 points. The tournament reaches its conclusion with the final at the Inalpi Arena in Turin on November 16.
SportsLigue