Carlos Alcaraz put in a dominant display to overpower a tiring Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 in the final Jimmy Connors group match to seize the PIF ATP No. 1 year-end ranking for the second time – a feat which ties the past achievements of tennis superstars Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg, and Lleyton Hewitt.
Fierce rival Jannik Sinner also arrived in Turin with an outside chance of securing the top spot, but Alcaraz was focussed right from the start against Musetti – who was suffering physically from the sheer weight of matches in recent weeks and fizzled out in the second set – and becomes only the 11th player to obtain the top position more than once.
“The match was really important for me, playing for the number one position. I was nervous at the beginning of the match,” said Alcaraz on court afterwards. “I knew that I was going to play the first set with those nerves, so I tried to handle that pressure, the nerves, the best I could. So, I’m very happy with the match, the level that I played today and obviously to be able to earn the number one.”
The match started evenly with both players holding serve comfortably. Musetti put up a good performance in front of his home fans all the way until 4-5 down and 40-15 up with two chances to level at five games all. However, when he was begged back to deuce, Alcaraz sensed his opportunity and broke serve for the first time when Musetti hooked a forehand wide after a superb rally.
The writing was on the wall when he was 0-40 behind at 1-2 in the second, after which Alcaraz ran away with the victory. He ended the match with 26 winners to 21 errors, while Musetti’s numbers were eight and 18 respectively. The Italian now drops to a 1-6 record in the pair’s head-to-heads.
After the match, Alcaraz explained in more detail about how long he had been chasing the top spot, and how hard it was, given Sinner’s equally fantastic dominance on tour this season.
“It means the world to me. The year-end No. 1 is always a goal. At the beginning of the year, I saw the No. 1 really, really far away [with] Jannik winning almost every tournament he plays. But from the middle of the season ’til now, I [gave myself] the goal for the No. 1 because I thought it was there. I had the chance to play great tennis in a lot of tournaments in a row to put myself in with a chance to be close to Jannik for the No. 1. Then in the last three, four tournaments of the year, [I was] fighting toe to toe with Jannik for this spot and then finally I got it. For me, it means everything.”
Alcaraz found a purple patch in the middle of the year when he reached nine consecutive finals, and currently has a stunning 70-8 win/loss record for 2025 during which he has won eight titles including the French Open and US Open, along with three ATP 1000 events and three ATP500 tournaments.
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi said: “Ending the season as the No. 1 player in the world is an incredible achievement—one that only 19 players have accomplished in more than 50 years of history. To do it twice by the age of 22 makes it even more special. It speaks not only to Carlos’ exceptional talent, but to his relentless drive to improve and his determination to compete against the very best. He should be immensely proud of what he’s achieved, and we look forward to watching him continue to inspire fans around the world.”
Alcaraz will now face the winner of Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alexander Zverev for a place in the final, while Sinner faces Alex de Minaur in the other semi-final scheduled for Saturday.
“It was a really important goal for me, to end the year as number one, but obviously the tournament is really important for me,” explained Alcaraz. “I’m excited about the semi-final, and hopefully have a chance to get to the final. So, we will see. Part of the job is done, but the rest of the rest is still going.”
