Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his bid to become the first Spanish man since 1998 to win the ATP Finals with a topsy-turvy victory over Alex de Minaur in his opening match.
The world No.2 lost a commanding lead early on before weathering the storm to clinch a 7-6(6), 6-2 win over his 26-year-old opponent, who is now 1-9 against top 10 players this season. It was far from a perfect performance from Alcaraz, who at times struggled for consistency on the court. De Minaur also deserves credit for his spirited performance, but his winner count of 12 was overshadowed by the second seed’s tally of 32.
“It was a really difficult match,” Alcaraz said afterwards.
“Alex, I think this surface is really good (for him) and he makes the most of the speed of the ball and speed of the court.
“He’s super fast and always gets the ball in front (of him). So that makes him really difficult in the returns. Doesn’t matter if you’re serving to 220 to 225, the return is going to is going to come even faster.
“I’m just really happy to get through this really difficult challenge and the way that I played for.”
Alcaraz, who is making his third appearance at the event, dictated proceedings early on in the match after hitting a backhand winner to break de Minaur in the fourth game before working his way to a 4-1, 40-0 lead. However, his Australian rival refused to be pushed around and admirably battled back to draw level at 5-5. Much to the frustration of Alcaraz, who began to produce mistakes more frequently.
Despite the blips, the six-time Grand Slam champion managed to hold his nerve to clinch a roller-coaster opening tiebreak in which he found himself a mini break down twice. In the end, he sealed the lead with the help of back-to-back forehand errors from de Minaur.
The roller-coaster battle continued into the second frame, which began with three breaks of serve before Alcaraz managed to hold for a 3-1 lead. From that moment on, the Spaniard raised his level and surged to the finish line to seal a straight-sets win.
“This tournament is one of the best tournaments that we have on Tour. Without a doubt.” Alcaraz commented.
“We’re playing against the best players in the world. So that shows how difficult and how important it is.”
The victory moves Alcaraz closer to the year-end No.1 title, which he will seal by either winning all three of his round-robin matches or reaching the final in Turin. He has now won 68 matches in 2025, which is more than any other player on the ATP Tour.
“I’ve been struggling the last three years to come to the end of the year with energy and motivation,” he admits.
“This year is a little bit different. I’m really proud about the way that I’ve been doing the things to come here with.
“I’m just really excited and looking forward to playing great tennis and giving myself a shot to try to win this tournament.”
As for De Minaur, who has won a Tour-leading 42 hardcourt matches this season, he is yet to beat a top 10 player outside of the Laver Cup this year.
Both players will face Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti later this week in the Jimmy Connors Group. Only the top two in the group will progress to the semi-finals.
