{"id":102643,"date":"2025-11-10T04:16:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T04:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102643"},"modified":"2025-11-10T04:16:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T04:16:00","slug":"motivated-alcaraz-beats-de-minaur-at-atp-finals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=102643","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Motivated\u2019 Alcaraz beats De Minaur at ATP Finals"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Carlos Alcaraz says he has entered the ATP Finals \u201cwith motivation\u201d as he moved a step closer to the year-end world number one ranking with victory over Alex de Minaur.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old Spaniard won his opening Jimmy Connors Group match 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 in one hour and 40 minutes in Turin, Italy.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz is making his third appearance at the season-ending tournament but has never reached the final before.<\/p>\n

He withdrew injured in 2022, lost in the semi-finals on debut a year later and failed to qualify from the group last year.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz is battling rival Jannik Sinner for the top ranking, with the Italian moving back to the top spot after his victory at the Paris Masters last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been struggling in the past three years to come to the end of the year with energy and motivation. This year is a little bit different,\u201d Alcaraz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really proud about the way I\u2019ve been doing things to come here with motivation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really excited and looking forward to playing great tennis, and giving myself a shot to try to win this tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the Bjorn Borg Group, two-time winner Alexander Zverev produced a serving masterclass to beat American debutant Ben Shelton 6-3 7-6 (8-6).<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old German lost only one of 17 points on serve in the first set and 10 of 54 across the match, finishing with a 81% first-serve percentage.<\/p>\n

Australian Open finalist Zverev did not face a break point in the match but had to rally from 6-3 down in the second-set tie-break to advance.<\/p>\n

He also pounced on Shelton\u2019s second serve, winning 16 of 21 points off the return.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew against Ben that I had to have a very high first-serve percentage, because he\u2019s so aggressive on the second serve,\u201d Zverev said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew that would be one of the key factors today and I\u2019m super pleased with this win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alcaraz edges closer to number one spot<\/h2>\n

World number two Alcaraz provided his usual moments of shot-making brilliance against De Minaur, hitting a total of 32 winners, but he was scrappy at times in the first set.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz raced to an early lead but missed three break points for a 5-1 advantage \u2013 and then found himself two points from losing the opener in the tie-break.<\/p>\n

De Minaur\u2019s trademark fight took him to the brink of winning the set but, leading 5-3 in the breaker, lost the next four points to concede it.<\/p>\n

Set two began with three consecutive breaks of serve, two of them in favour of Alcaraz, before a run of three sensational winners in a row put Alcaraz firmly in charge.<\/p>\n

Despite defeat for De Minaur \u2013 who has not beaten Alcaraz in five attempts \u2013 the 26-year-old Australian should take confidence from his performance against the six-time Grand Slam champion.<\/p>\n

Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti, a late replacement for Novak Djokovic following the Serb\u2019s decision to withdraw on Saturday, are the other two players in the Jimmy Connors Group.<\/p>\n

Alcaraz and defending champion Sinner have split the four Grand Slam titles between them this year.<\/p>\n

They are in different groups and are widely tipped to meet in the final on Sunday, 16 November.<\/p>\n

This is what each has to do to end 2025 as world number one:<\/p>\n