Carlos Alcaraz beats Musetti to seal Year-End No. 1, sends De Minaur into SFs at Nitto ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz clinched his year-end number one ranking after beating Lorenzo Musetti by 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday in the ongoing Nitto ATP Finals. The Spaniard’s win also sends Alex de Minaur into the semifinals of the tournament. The Australian had beaten Taylor Fritz earlier on Thursday.

Alcaraz registered a perfect 3-0 record in the Jimmy Connors Group to advance to the semifinals. The World No.1 broke the Italian’s serve in the 10th game of the opening set.

Alcaraz then dominated the second set to claim a comprehensive win in straight sets.

“The match was really important for me, playing for Year-End No.1,” said Alcaraz, who improved to 7-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Musetti. “It wasn’t easy at the beginning with the nerves. I tried to handle that pressure the best I could, so I’m just really happy with the level I played and to be able to end the year as the No. 1.”

The Spaniard said ending the year as the number one player in the PIF rankings was a very important goal for him.

“It was a really important goal to end the year as the No. 1, but this tournament is really important for me,” added Alcaraz, who is chasing his first Nitto ATP Finals. “I’m excited about qualifying for the semi-finals and hopefully getting to the final. We will see… Part of the job is done, but I’m excited to keep going.”

Musetti said he played decently but admitted Alcaraz lifted his level and it was not easy physically as he was made to run a lot by the Spaniard.

“I think I managed to start really well and to serve big. That was the only chance I had to try to deal with Carlos’ game,” said Musetti. “Tonight I think he also served pretty well. He was managing to put me in a position where I had to run a lot and be really aggressive.

“At the end, of course, the physical part was tough to deal with. All the credit to Carlos, who played really incredible tennis. Every time he surprises me more. Hopefully, one day I will have my revenge.”

Alcaraz’s semifinal opponent is yet to be decided.