Carlos Alcaraz is the youngest player to win 70 ATP-level matches in a season since Novak Djokovic in 2009
Carlos Alcaraz stated that only “part of the job is done” after securing the year-end world number one ranking by advancing to the knockout stages of the ATP Finals with three consecutive victories.
Alcaraz had already clinched a semi-final berth after Alex de Minaur’s earlier triumph over Taylor Fritz on Thursday, but he remained determined to surpass rival Jannik Sinner in the race to be crowned the top-ranked men’s player of 2025.
The 22-year-old Spaniard emitted a resounding roar upon achieving the feat, defeating Italian ninth seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1, and also securing his first-ever season with 70 wins.
By topping the Jimmy Connors Group, Alcaraz has averted a semi-final clash with Sinner, who has already been confirmed as the winner of the Bjorn Borg Group ahead of the final round of matches on Friday.
Sinner will face De Minaur in the semi-finals, while Alcaraz awaits the winner of the match between German Alexander Zverev and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, as the world’s top two players aim to set up a tantalizing final showdown to conclude a year in which they have once again dominated the tour.
“It was a really important goal for me to end the year as number one,” said Alcaraz.
“This tournament is really important for me and I’m really excited about qualifying for the semi-finals, and hopefully getting to the final.
“Part of the job is done, but the rest of the job is still going.”
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Alcaraz will conclude the year as the top-ranked player for the second time, having become the first teenager to achieve this feat in 2022.
In addition to his tour-leading 70 wins, Alcaraz has also secured an unmatched eight titles in 2025, including two Grand Slams, which equals his total number of losses.
Now he will aim to complete another impressive season by winning the ATP Finals for the first time.
Musetti was supported by a passionate home crowd inside the packed 12,000-capacity Inalpi Arena, as he sought to build on the momentum of his dramatic victory over De Minaur on Tuesday.
The Italian, battling fatigue in his seventh match in nine days following his run to the Athens Open final, matched Alcaraz deep into the opening set, but his admirable resistance was eventually broken in an absorbing 11-minute 10th game.
Although Musetti continued to fight, withstanding a break point in his opening service game of the second set, his relentless opponent continued to apply pressure and broke to love for a 3-1 lead.
That sparked Alcaraz’s dash to the finish line, but only after a free-hitting Musetti created his first two break points to re-energize the crowd.
That excitement was short-lived as Alcaraz fired back with four consecutive points, and there would be no recovery for a fading Musetti, who was broken again before Alcaraz served out victory to achieve the first of his goals in northern Italy.
De Minaur was among those hoping for an Alcaraz victory after maintaining his interest in the season-ending competition, despite opening with back-to-back defeats.
The Australian said he had recovered from “a dark place” following his painful loss to Musetti, in which he held a 5-3 lead in the deciding set before losing four consecutive games to concede the match.
Requiring a straight-set victory to remain in contention two days later, De Minaur ended American sixth seed Fritz’s tournament with an impressive 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win.
“It means a lot. A couple of days ago I was in a pretty dark place,” De Minaur told Sky Sports.
“More than anything, I feel proud of my efforts. Not for just coming out and winning, but also the mindset. I made peace with what had happened and just committed.”
Alex de Minaur had not previously won a match at the ATP Finals
De Minaur was reluctant to trust the news that he would qualify with an Alcaraz win when he was initially informed in his post-match interview.
The 26-year-old had lost his past 16 matches against top 10 players, and each of the five matches he had previously played at the ATP Finals. The latest loss to Musetti had shaken his confidence.
But, against an opponent whom he had lost the two previous meetings, De Minaur reset mentally to produce an inspired display against Fritz.
Before leaving the court, he wrote ‘finally’ on the TV camera lens.
“I’ve dealt with a fair bit of heartbreak recently,” De Minaur said in his post-match interview.
“[The loss to Musetti] was a tough pill to swallow. I didn’t overthink today, I just went out and committed to what I needed to do. I continued to back myself and, whether it worked or it didn’t, I was going to leave it all out there today.”
In the men’s doubles, world number one pairing Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool set up an all-British semi-final against Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski by beating Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 7-5 to finish second in the Peter Fleming group.
Fellow Briton Henry Patten and Finnish teammate Harri Heliovaara will seek to join them in the knockout stages when they face Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic on Friday.
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