Alcaraz Secures Year-End No. 1, Sinner Stays Perfect at ATP Finals

TURIN: Carlos Alcaraz knocked rival Jannik Sinner off the top of the standings on Thursday after securing the year-end world No. 1 spot by beating Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals 6-4, 6-1 in Turin.

A double-Grand Slam winner this season, Alcaraz will be ahead of Sinner in the updated men’s rankings on Monday, thanks to his success over Musetti, which also sealed first place for the Spaniard in the Jimmy Connors Group at the season-ending tournament.

On the other hand, Jannik Sinner may not have delivered his sharpest performance on Friday, but the defending champion still produced a straight-sets victory to complete a perfect round-robin in Turin.

The No. 2 player in the ATP Rankings overcame an up-and-down showing to defeat Ben Shelton 6-3, 7-6(3), ending the American’s season in the process. Although Sinner struggled to find his rhythm on serve, he absorbed Shelton’s spirited challenge — despite the debutant already being eliminated — to preserve his spotless record this week and extend his indoor winning streak to 29 matches.

Alcaraz, who has won 70 matches so far this season, could lose his semifinal on Saturday but will now still finish 2025 top of the pile, even if Sinner retains his Finals title on home turf.

But Alcaraz looks in no mood to do that as he seeks his first Finals triumph, and he appears to be on course for yet another finale showdown against Italy’s Sinner, who qualified in first place from the Bjorn Borg Group on Wednesday.

Alcaraz has won four of his five meetings with Sinner this season, all of which have been in finals of top-level tournaments, with two deciding Grand Slams.

The 22-year-old won one of the best matches in tennis history against Sinner to retain his French Open title in June before losing the Wimbledon final to the Italian.

And on Thursday, he confidently dealt with Sinner’s countryman Musetti, who has been eliminated and will not take part in the Davis Cup Final 8, which is being held in Bologna next week.

A passionate crowd cheered on Musetti, but it was to no avail for the world No. 9, who only qualified for the Finals due to Novak Djokovic pulling out at the last minute and clearly flagging in the second set. Agencies

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