Spanish tennis giant, Carlos Alcaraz, is only one win away from securing the year-ending No. 1 ranking after rallying past Taylor Fritz on Tuesday at the ATP Finals.
He now needs to either win his final group match against Lorenzo Musetti, or his next match in the semifinals to finish a year No. 1 for the second time in his career.
“I’m trying not to think about it, to be honest,” Alcaraz said, when asked about regaining the No. 1 spot. “But it’s really difficult, not to think about the No. 1 spot,” he added.
The Spanish top seed rallied past Fritz 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-3 on Tuesday in what he described as a “really, really difficult match”.
Alcaraz produced 47 winners to Fritz’s 38 and managed to come back from a set down despite 14 aces from his American opponent.
“Really demanding physically. It was really tight. I saved really difficult and important moments during the match, which I’m really proud of and really happy about it to show a really good tennis when it matters,” he said.
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Although Fritz had chances to break Alcaraz’s serve early in the second set, he said he “just wasn’t clinical enough in finishing some points on some really big points.”
“The first two sets I think I did an incredible job serving and returning. I gave myself all the chances I could possibly ask for the first two sets,” Fritz added, and went on to say he lost the chances he had. “My opportunity to win that match was in the second set, and I didn’t take it. I had the chances.”
If Alcaraz doesn’t win another match and Jannik Sinner goes undefeated to defend his title, Sinner will finish No. 1.
Alcaraz now tops the Jimmy Connors group ahead of Fritz and Musetti, who are 1-1, while De Minaur trails at 0-2.
Musetti was a late replacement for Novak Djokovic, who withdrew with a shoulder injury.
The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals, where Sinner leads his group after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in his opener on Monday.
Fritz has been bothered by knee tendinitis, which seemed to hinder his movements in the third set.
“It gets a little bit tough to bend my knee on my serve once we get that late into the match,” Fritz said, adding that he’d had tendinitis all year long.
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