Carlos Alcaraz edged past Taylor Fritz in a gripping three-set battle to move within one win of sealing the year-end world number one ranking, while Lorenzo Musetti delighted home fans with a spirited victory at the ATP Finals in Turin.
The Spanish top seed fought back to defeat Fritz 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 in a high-quality contest lasting two hours and 48 minutes.
Despite back-to-back wins, Alcaraz must wait to confirm his semi-final spot following Musetti’s dramatic comeback win over Alex de Minaur.
Backed by a passionate Italian crowd, Musetti rallied from 5-3 down in the deciding set to triumph 7-5 3-6 7-5, keeping his qualification hopes alive.
Alcaraz will secure both the world number one ranking and a semi-final place with victory over Musetti on Thursday.
Asked about the pressure of chasing the top spot, Alcaraz admitted: “It’s really difficult not to think about the number one spot. At the beginning of the match I thought a little bit about it, but during the match I just focused on playing.”
Musetti, who has played six matches in seven days, praised the crowd after his marathon win: “With a big heart and big passion, I started to play better. The support of the crowd was amazing.”
