Top seed Carlos Alcaraz launched his bid for a maiden ATP Finals title in style Sunday, defeating Alex de Minaur 7-6 (5), 6-2 in a spirited opening match, while two-time champion Alexander Zverev powered past Ben Shelton to start his campaign with a win.
Playing in the Jimmy Connors Group, Alcaraz finally broke his first-match jinx at the season-ending event after losing his openers in the past two editions.
The 21-year-old Spaniard held off a fierce challenge from De Minaur, who clawed back from 1-4 and 0-40 down to force a tiebreak in the opening set before Alcaraz closed it out with precision.
Both players exchanged early breaks in the second, but Alcaraz’s relentless pace and sharper shot selection soon tilted the balance. He surged to another 4-1 lead and never looked back, sealing victory in just over 90 minutes.
Though his aggressive approach produced 19 unforced errors in the first set, Alcaraz’s dominance grew as the match wore on – a confident start to his quest for the only major title missing from his resume.
“It was a really difficult match,” Alcaraz said. “On this surface, Alex makes the most of the speed of the ball – he’s super fast and really difficult on return. I’m just really happy to get through this really difficult challenge.”
After winning the tiebreak, Alcaraz began to enjoy himself, cupping his ear to milk the applause that greeted him after a long, entertaining rally to hold serve and lead 5-1. From there, there was no way back for De Minaur.
Alcaraz is also aiming to end the year as world No. 1 for the second time in his career and needs to reach the final with at least one round-robin win or sweep all three of his group matches.
Italian Jannik Sinner must retain his title to have any chance of finishing the year in the top spot.
One of the loudest cheers of the night came when an advertisement featuring the Wimbledon champion was shown on the big screen, but the crowd will have to wait until Monday to see the home favorite in action.
American Ben Shelton, making his ATP Finals debut, looked set to force a third set but squandered a tiebreak that appeared all but won as Zverev came through 6-3, 7-6 (6) in their Björn Borg Group clash.
Shelton was overpowered by Zverev’s serve in the opening set. The German, who won three service games to love, broke the American twice to take the opener in 28 minutes.
Shelton saved two break points to avoid going 3-1 down in the second and battled to force a tiebreak, where he raced ahead 4-0. Leading 6-3 and serving for the set, he faltered as Zverev mounted a stunning comeback with three straight points and clinched victory soon after.
The ATP Finals has a record prize pool of $15.5 million and offers 1,500 ranking points. The tournament culminates with the final at the Inalpi Arena in Turin on Nov. 16.
