a passionate love affair between Carlos Alcaraz Lorenzo Musetti had classic qualities in the first set. The Partizan crowd inside the Inalpi Arena was very engaged, even heart-beating. Musetti, meanwhile, capitalized on their intensity and showed off his elegant game as the pair completed four holds each.
Then things unraveled, with Alcaraz seizing the moment and chasing Musetti. Alcaraz once again rode a moment of tennis greatness to the top, this time recording a career-best 70th win of the season.
The world number one Spaniard turned the tables in the tenth game of the first set and broke serve on his second chance, much to the dismay of Musetti and the crowd.
Musetti held his own in the match, playing inspired tennis but with little to show for it. Ultimately, he could not avoid a seventh consecutive loss to Alcaraz, 6-4, 6-2, as the Spaniard entered the semi-finals undefeated and locked in the coveted year-end No. 1 spot for the second time and the first time since his teenage years in 2022.
“This game is very important to me,” Alcaraz said. “Fighting for No. 1 in the world. So it was nerve-wracking at the beginning and it wasn’t easy. I had to focus and try my best to deal with that pressure. I’m really happy with the match and the level I played today and obviously being able to end the year as No. 1 in the world.”
Alcaraz went undefeated to win the Jimmy Connors bracket and Alex de Minaur secured his first win at the ATP Finals on Thursday, defeating Taylor Fritz to finish second.
Alcaraz will face the winner of Friday’s showdown between Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals, while De Minaur will face Sinner in Saturday’s semifinals.
Alcaraz weathered the storm in the first set and ultimately took control of the match. He quickly broke serve at 3-1 in the second set and that was all he needed for the day.
Alcaraz broke through the second set and won eight of the final nine games to close out the match, while Musetti faded away with the raucous noise that started the match.
The Spaniard scored 26-8 winners for Musetti and broke serve three times out of five opportunities.
Musetti did get two break chances in the second set with Alcaraz serving at 3-1, but they were begging and the world number one did his job in a relatively easy 83 minutes.
“Ending the year in first place is a really important goal for me, but obviously this tournament is really important to me – I’m happy to advance to the semi-finals and get myself another semi-final here. I’d say part of the work is done, but the rest is still a work in progress – and I’m excited to get on with it.”
