Carlos Alcaraz began his ATP Finals campaign in Turin on Sunday with a composed 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 victory over Alex de Minaur, marking the first time the Spaniard has won his opening match at the season-ending tournament. Earlier in the evening, former champion Alexander Zverev also made a strong start, defeating Ben Shelton in straight sets.
World number two Alcaraz, who had lost his opening matches to Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud in the past two editions, said he was pleased to begin this year’s event on a different note.
“This tournament is one of the best we have on tour,” Alcaraz said afterwards. “I’ve struggled in previous years to stay motivated at the end of the season, but this year feels different. I’m proud that I’m doing the right things to give myself a chance to win this tournament.”
The match was not without complications. Leading 4-1 in the opening set, Alcaraz faltered on serve, allowing De Minaur to draw level. The seventh seed then pushed the set to a tiebreak, where Alcaraz trailed 3-1 and later 5-3 before recovering his rhythm to take it 7-5.
Despite an early service break against him in the second set, the Spaniard quickly regained control and closed out the contest with authority, claiming his fifth consecutive win over the Australian.
“It was a really difficult match,” Alcaraz said. “On this surface, Alex uses the speed of the ball really well. He is super fast and very tough to play against. I’m happy to get through this challenge and happy with how I’m playing.”
Alcaraz and De Minaur are part of the Jimmy Connors Group, alongside American sixth seed Taylor Fritz and Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who replaced the injured Novak Djokovic.
In the Bjorn Borg Group, Zverev opened his campaign with a 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) win over Shelton. The German, a two-time ATP Finals champion in 2018 and 2021, broke Shelton twice in the first set before the second developed into a serve-dominated battle.
Shelton surged to a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak, but Zverev responded with a precise backhand passing shot and closed out the match as Shelton sent a forehand long after a lengthy rally.
“In the tie-break he started really well,” Zverev said. “I just tried to focus on the things I could control. I did that at the end and I’m super happy with the win.”
Zverev now joins Italian top seed Jannik Sinner and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the group, as the race to the semi-finals continues in Turin.
