Atp Finals, Alcaraz wins with Musetti: will end the year as world number one
The Spaniard overcame the Italian in two sets and secured the lead. Alex De Minaur, who beat Taylor Fritz, qualifies in his round. Sinner-Shelton and Zverev-Auger-Aliassime play tomorrow. Musetti confirms he will not participate in the Davis Cup
Lorenzo Musetti succumbed to Carlos Alcaraz in two sets, 6-4, 6-1 in just over an hour and 20 minutes. With this clear-cut victory, the Spaniard ensures he will end 2025 as world number one. It was a match in which very beautiful points were seen, accompanied by the enthusiasm of the crowd, delighted again today by Lorenzo's talent. But after the first set, the difference in ranking with Alcaraz emerged, and he shifted gears, taking the lead.
Musetti got off to a great start, keeping pace with the Spaniard's power, displacing him with sudden accelerations, serving excellent first serves and insidious second serves. The world number one surprises him with short balls but also misses a few free errors. Immediately, however, come great forehands to redress the balance. The head-to-head match went on until 5-4 for Alcaraz, with no break point, then the balance was broken: Lorenzo saved himself from a first set point for the Spaniard, but a forehand cue condemned him to the second. And yet another forehand error (an unsuccessful counter-attack) handed the set to his opponent, in the silence of a stadium that had exploded just a moment before.
The following partial saw a progressive rise of Carlos, more precise and effective, and in parallel the extinguishing of Musetti. The first balls began to abandon the Italian, who exposed himself to his opponent's aggression (25 points won in reply against Lorenzo's 13), who often followed his shots at the net, where he was almost perfect (15 points out of 15 raids). The 6-1 came swiftly and painfully, the result of several errors by the now disheartened Carrara player.
The second qualifier in this round is Alex De Minaur who unexpectedly won in two sets this afternoon with Fritz, last year's finalist and number 6 in the ranking. Tomorrow afternoon at 14:30 Sinner plays the third match of his group with Ben Shelton, in the evening it will be the turn of Zverev and Auger-Aliassime.
Davis Cup without Musetti
