Carlos Alcaraz scored a double: he beat Lorenzo Musetti to reach the semi-finals of the ATP Finals in Turin and was assured of ending 2025 as world No. 1.
The Spaniard showed his abilities at the Inalpi Arena, playing a solid match peppered with his ‘pearls’. That means millimeter short balls and lightning fast attacks. Final score 6-4 6-1. Musetti tried to keep his opponent at bay, and also started well.
In fact, in the first set, he took advantage of the service grace day (which in some cases was almost 220 kilometers) to keep the champion from Murcia at arm’s length. At least until 5-4. Then an empty pass, Alcaraz capitalized on it to close out the set: 6-4 in 45 minutes.
Inalpi Arena tried to shake the blue, but his legs no longer worked. In the fourth game at the break, in the fifth game Musetti had a double chance to equalize at 15-40 but Alcaraz got up and made a decisive lunge. ‘Muso’ ran out of gas, the match ended there.
Carlos celebrated the win with hashtag #1 on the courtside camera. So we begin to break down the scoreboard for the second phase of the tournament. In the semifinals Jannik Sinner will challenge Alex De Minaur (who beat Taylor Fritz). For him there remains one final meeting, which is irrelevant for the purposes of the tournament itself: a match with American Ben Shelton, who has already been eliminated.
On Friday at 14.00 they will compete at the Inalpi Arena, and if the American has already boarded the plane to Florida, then the Italian is thinking about the next round, which could open the door to the final on Sunday.
The enthusiasm for the champion from Pusteria Valley is very high. Morning training in the foyer of the Inalpi Arena was a frenzy: many fans gathered on the sidelines to admire the home idol up close. He didn’t blink an eye and continued to ‘hit’ the ball like a blacksmith. On the other side of the goal, as a sparring partner, young Palermo native Gabriele Piraino.
Nearly two hours of intense exchanges of testing diagonals, serves, volleys, dumps. With one eye on the big screen to see how the doubles of Andrea Vavassori and Simone Bolelli look. After practice was over, Jannik presented himself to the fans, signing autographs (everywhere, on balls, hats, signs, newspaper copies, tickets and the orange Finals trophy) and taking selfies.
ANSA Agency Final: De Minaur beats Fritz and ‘sees’ semifinals – ATP Finals 2025 – Ansa.it To pass this round, Alcaraz must beat Musetti (ANSA) Italian tennis is experiencing its golden moment. For the first time an Italian doubles team will also qualify for the semifinals: despite losing the final match against the title holders (already eliminated) in the third set, Tim Puetz and Kevin Krawietz from Germany, qualified first and will play for access to the final on Saturday. The final score was 7-6 (5), 4-6, 13-11.
“Whoever we play, it will be a difficult match – they said after the match – but we know all the pairs very well, we have faced them all and learned by watching the matches. We are very satisfied with these three matches, there are still a few regrets for today, but it’s about centimetres, it happens in doubles, there are matches that go well and there are those that don’t, but it doesn’t always depend on you, there is also the ability of the opponent”.
In the men’s singles sector, peace has returned to Alex De Minaur’s house, after a heavy defeat against Musetti last Tuesday. The Australian surprisingly eliminated Fritz, the 2024 finalist, in two sets: 7-6 (3), 6-3. For him it was the first victory in his two participations in the ATP Finals. “Finally,” he wrote to the camera before leaving the field.
“A few days ago – admits De Minaur – it was one of the worst days of my career. I was in a complete black hole, I could have said that I hated this sport and today we are here, two days later, and I feel amazing. Amazing. But most importantly, beyond the result, I am at peace with myself.”
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