ATP Tour

Alcaraz & Fritz square off after winning starts at Nitto ATP Finals

The Nitto ATP Finals continues Tuesday with the second singles matches for the competitors in the Jimmy Connors Group. Top seed Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz will both bid to improve to 2-0 this week in Turin, before Alex de Minaur and home favourite Lorenzo Musetti seek to avoid a dreaded 0-2 start in their evening showdown.

Both Fritz and Musetti find themselves in the unusual position of playing round-robin matches on consecutive days at the season finale, a scheduling quirk resulting from Musetti's run to the Athens final on Saturday.

In doubles action, top-seeded Britons Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool will seek to make up for an opening loss when they take on Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, while Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori open the day's play against third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.

[1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [6] Taylor Fritz (USA)
For the first time in his three Nitto ATP Finals appearances, Alcaraz earned a win in his opening round-robin match by beating Alex de Minaur 7-6(5), 6-2 on Sunday. Two more victories in Turin, regardless of round, will be enough for him to secure ATP Year-End No. 1 Presented by PIF honors in his battle with Jannik Sinner.

Having played just one match since the start of October — a shock opening loss to Cameron Norrie in Paris — Alcaraz returned to winning ways with an encouraging opening performance at the Inalpi Arena.

"In terms of sending a message to the other players and even to yourself, [an early win] is very positive," Alcaraz said after breaking De Minaur four times, according to Infosys ATP Stats. "I’ve been playing here for three years and it’s the first time I’ve won the first match, so I’m pleased with that... I’m feeling really motivated for the next matches."

Fritz also enters this Tuesday showdown off a win, his coming by a 6-3, 6-4 scoreline against Musetti on Monday. In his own PIF ATP Rankings battle with Turin debutant Ben Shelton for No. 1 American, the 28-year-old can lean on the experience of his final run last year in Turin and his semi-final showing in 2022. He has never been knocked out in the group stage at the Nitto ATP Finals.

"Every time I come here, I like the conditions and it is very easy to get motivated," Fritz said of his impressive Turin record. "You can lock in, it is the last tournament of the year and it is the ATP Finals. It is a big deal."

Against Alcaraz, Fritz will be further buoyed by his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win against the Spaniard less than two months ago at Laver Cup. While Alcaraz extended his lead to 4-1 in their series with a more recent win in the Tokyo final, Fritz appeared to find a winning formula in San Francisco. In that Laver Cup meeting, the American won 16 of 20 net points, ratcheting up the power on his rally ball and picking the right time to attack.

While Fritz found joy in the slow indoor conditions at the team event, the faster surface in Turin will make for a different match. Neither player will be biding his time in the rallies, with serves and early attacks especially damaging in the typically shorter exchanges at the Inalpi Arena.

{{player.PlayerFirstName}} {{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PartnerLastName}}

{{player.Record}}

Vs
wins

{{opponent.Record}}

Show H2H Detail

{{opponent.PlayerFirstName}} {{opponent.PlayerLastName}}

{{opponent.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{ opponent.PlayerLastName }}

{{opponent.PartnerLastName}}

• {{player.Ranking}} Rank {{opponent.Ranking}}
• {{player.Age ? player.Age : '-'}} Age {{opponent.Age ? opponent.Age : '-'}}

[7] Alex de Minaur (AUS) vs. [9] Lorenzo Musetti (ITA)
It's not quite do or die in this high-stakes matchup, but it's close. After a pair of straight-sets losses to start the group stage, De Minaur and Nitto ATP Finals debutant Musetti will be desperate for a win to keep their fates in their own hands.

De Minaur is seeking his first Turin win in his fifth match, having made his debut last season. While he could not take a set off Alcaraz, the Aussie gave the top seed all he could handle in their opener.

"It was a really difficult match," said the Spaniard. "On this surface, Alex makes the most of the speed of the ball, he’s super fast and really difficult on return." Despite the quick conditions, De Minaur created five break chances in the match, converting two.

^{Musetti leads De Minaur 3-1 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series. Photo credit: ATP.}

De Minaur will be hoping the surface plays a big role in Tuesday's outcome. He trails Musetti 1-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with his only win coming on the hard courts of the Australian Open in 2022. Musetti has won all three of their meetings since, including two on clay this season at the ATP Masters 1000s in Monte-Carlo and Madrid.

With a 42-15 record on hard courts this season, De Minaur owns the most tour-level wins of any player on the surface. Musetti (25-16) is 12th on the leaderboard for most hard-court wins this year, including final runs in Chengdu and last week in Athens.

The creative and stylish Italian is most at home on his native clay, but his presence in Turin is proof of his ability across all surfaces on the ATP Tour. He'll hope to take lessons learned from record seven-time Nitto ATP Finals champ Novak Djokovic — who beat him on Saturday in a three-set Athens final — into his duel with De Minaur.

Doubles Action
Italians Bolelli and Vavassori thrilled their home fans with a 7-5, 6-3 win against top seeds Cash and Glasspool on Sunday night, while Granollers and Zeballos spoiled the return of reigning champions Krawietz and Puetz with a 6-4, 4-6, 10-6 victory in the tournament's curtain-raiser.

Riding high entering the tournament, the top seeds and the German titlists now face a pivotal matchup that will send the loser into last place in the Peter Fleming Group.

Granollers and Zeballos, champions this season at Roland Garros and the US Open, take on Wimbledon champs Bolelli and Vavassori for first place in the group.