Turin | Alcaraz and Zverev get their campaigns underway

Carlos Alcaraz and Alexnader Zverev scored the first wins on the opening day of the Nitto ATP Finals as the group stages got underway in Turin.

I’m just really happy that I got through this really difficult challenge, and happy with how I’m playing [going into] the next matches.” Carlos Alcaraz

First up was the Spaniard’s turn at world number 1, who got his campaign to retain that spot underway at the end of the year with an excellent 7-6(5) 6-2 win over Alex de Minaur to get the event underway in the Jimmy Connors Group.

While playing in his third final, this was the first time he had won his opening match, and he was determined not to stumble again as he powered his way to a 4–1 lead, but temporarily lost focus, allowing the Australian back into the match.

De Minaur leveled and then held to force a tiebreak, in which he broke Alcaraz twice. On both occasions, Alcaraz responded with dominant serves and eventually took the lead 6-5 when De Minaur made an unfortunate forehand error to hand him the set.

While the first set could very well have gone in De Minaur’s favor, the second was very much Alcaraz’s from the opening moments, despite the pair exchanging breaks in the first three games, as he then held on to lead 3-1 and dominated the set with some classic Alcaraz variation and power. Not even the Australian’s renowned speed could stop the top seed, wrapping up the match after an hour and 40 minutes.

“This tournament is without a doubt one of the best tournaments we have on the Tour,” Alcaraz said. “We are playing against the best players in the world, which shows how difficult and important it is. I have struggled in recent years to end the year motivated. This year it is slightly different, which I am proud of [as] I’m doing the right things to give myself a chance to win this tournament.”

Alcaraz hit 21 winners but made 19 unforced errors, but he delighted the crowd with his shots, especially in the second set.

“It was a very difficult match,” Alcaraz admitted. “On this surface Alex makes the most of the speed of the ball, he is super fast and very difficult on the return. I am just very happy to have overcome this very difficult challenge, and happy with how I am playing [going into] the next matches.”

With this win, Alcaraz also strengthened its bid to claim year-end No. 1 honors for the first time since 2022. He now needs an extra 250 points in Turin to secure that honor over rival Jannik Sinner, with each round-robin win worth 200 points.

His next match is scheduled for Tuesday, when he faces Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti, who play Monday.

(Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

In the evening programme, two-time champion Alexander Zverev opened his own campaign by beating Ben Shelton, who made his debut at the prestigious event, in the opening singles of the Bjorn Borg Group.

Zverev won 6-3 7-6(6) as he held off the young American who, as the scoreline suggests, grew in confidence as the match progressed.

The German, meanwhile, was competing for the first time since spraining his ankle in the semi-finals of the Paris Masters, which he lost to Jannik Sinner eight days ago. On this occasion he showed no sign of trouble in that area.

He stayed focused throughout and more importantly, he kept it as Shelton held two set points in the second set tiebreak.

“He’s an incredibly aggressive player. Probably one of the most aggressive in the world,” Zverev said after his one-hour, 33-minute victory. “In the tiebreak he started great. Yes, I missed maybe one or two first serves and the passing shot he hit (at 5-4) was ridiculous. I felt like I had to control the things I could control and I did that well.”

“At the end of the day, when the point is on his serve, he always has it under control. If I get the return back and in the rally, then I can do something. I did well at the end of the tiebreak and I am very happy with that victory.”

Third-seeded Zverev did not face a break point in the match as he threw down the gauntlet in his pursuit of a third title and became the eighth player to lift the end-of-season trophy for the third time.