World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz made a solid start to the ATP Finals in Turin on Sunday with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-2 win over Alex de Minaur.
It is the first time that the Spaniard had won his opening match at the finals. He lost to Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud in the last two years.
It was not all plain sailing. Leading 4-1 and pressing for 5-1 in the first set, Alcaraz suffered a sudden dip, struggling with his first serves and allowing De Minaur to come back to level the score.
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Trailing 3-1 and then 5-3 in the tiebreak, Alcaraz rediscovered his touch to level and then break De Minaur to win the first set.
In spite of dropping his service early, the second set was more straightforward as Alcaraz raced away to claim his fifth victory in as many meetings with De Minaur.
“It was a really difficult match,” said Alcaraz.
“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, and happy with how I’m playing.”
Alcaraz and De Minaur are in the Jimmy Connors group which also features Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti, a late replacement for the injured Novak Djokovic.
Later on Sunday, Alexander Zverev faces Ben Shelton in the first match of the Bjorn Bjorg group, which also includes world No.1 Jannik Sinner and Felix Auger-Aliassime