Carlos Alcaraz secures year-end No. 1 ranking after beating Lorenzo Musetti in ATP Finals
Carlos Alcaraz secured the year-end world number one ranking after defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 at the ATP Finals on Thursday.
New Delhi: Carlos Alcaraz secured the year-end world number one ranking and clinched top spot in the Jimmy Connors Group with a 6-4, 6-1 victory against Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals on Thursday.
This is the second time in his career that the Spaniard has ended the year at the top of the rankings. Alcaraz became the youngest player to finish a year at No. 1 when he achieved the milestone as a 19-year-old in 2022.
He had to win three of his matches at the season-ending tournament for the top eight players to finish No. 1, while Italy's Jannik Sinner had to go unbeaten to defend his title to be in with a chance. Alcaraz will take on the winner of Friday's match between Alexander Zverev and Felix Auger-Aliassime in Saturday's semifinal.
Alcaraz absorbed the massive pressure of the home support early on and stayed focused on the match. Despite committing 21 unforced errors, he hit 26 winners to Musetti’s eight, unsettling the Italian and sealing the victory in 83 minutes with trademark flair.
'The year No. 1 is always a goal': Carlos Alcaraz
After the victory, Alcaraz said that it means the world to him as the year No.1 is always a goal for him. The Spaniard further added that he saw at the beginning of the year that the No.1 rank is far away from him, with Jannik winning almost every tournament.
"From the middle of the season till now I put the goal for the No. 1 because I thought it was there ... and finally I got it. For me, it means everything, the work that we put every day during the whole season, up and downs … so I'm really proud about my team and myself," Alcaraz said.
With Alcaraz's victory, Alex de Minaur also qualified for the semifinals after the Australian beat Taylor Fritz 7-6 (3), 6-3 for his first win in six matches at the tournament, following his debut last year.