TURIN, Italy — Carlos Alcaraz is one win away from the year-end No. 1 ranking.
Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-3 at the ATP Finals on Tuesday and now needs to either win his final group match against Lorenzo Musetti or his next match in the semifinals to claim the No. 1 ranking of the year for the second time in his career.
“Honestly, I try not to think about it,” Alcaraz said. “But it’s really hard not to think about No. 1.”
Alcaraz improved to 2-0 in the season-ending quarterfinals before Musetti defeated Alex De Minaur 7-5, 3-6, 7-5 to seal a spot in the semifinals.
If Alcaraz doesn’t win another fight and Jannik Sinner defends the title with an undefeated record, Sinner will take first place.
Alcaraz hit 47 winners to Fritz’s 38, and despite 14 aces from his American opponent, he was able to come back from a set down.
“It was a very, very difficult game,” Alcaraz said. “It was very physically demanding. The match was very intense. I saved a very difficult and important moment in the match, which I’m very proud of and very happy to be able to show really good tennis at a crucial moment.”
Fritz had a chance to break Alcaraz’s serve early in the second set.
“I just wasn’t calm enough to make some points on some very important issues,” Fritz said.
“I thought I did a really good job serving and receiving in the first two sets. I gave myself every chance I could ask for in the first two sets,” Fritz added. “My chance to win that match was in the second set and I didn’t take it. I had my chance.”
Alcaraz is now ahead of Fritz and Musetti in the Jimmy Connors group with a 1-1 record, while De Minaur is 0-2 behind.
Musetti was Novak Djokovic’s backup, who withdrew due to a shoulder injury.
The top two teams in each group advance to the semi-finals.
Sinner leads his group after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in Monday’s opener.
Fritz was bothered by knee tendonitis in the third set.
“Once the game gets late in the game, it gets a little harder to bend your knees on the serve,” Fritz said. “My knees were completely cooked.
“I’ve had tendonitis all year,” Fritz added. “I had a few days in a row where I had a really hard time playing without exploding. … I started feeling it toward the end of the first set, but it didn’t really affect me until the third set. It wasn’t until I was really having a hard time bending my back leg on the serve, going into the backhand, loading the leg, my right leg, to get that open forehand.”
