Carlos Alcaraz explains what made his ATP Finals win over Taylor Fritz such a challenge

The win didn’t come easily. Fritz played well throughout, and Alcaraz admitted there were times when he felt second best on court.

Speaking courtside after the match, Alcaraz said: “Well, it was pretty tight, the match. I think I was running more than him, struggling more than him.

“After the first set, I was a break up. The next game I didn’t play well. The first set, I didn’t serve well and he was playing really comfortably from the baseline with everything.

“I was really relieved after the win because of everything that I went through during the match physically. I didn’t feel the ball as well as I did in the first round but really happy that I found a way to come back.”

Alcaraz’s latest result puts him just one win away from securing world number one status to close out 2024 – another milestone he’s careful not to get ahead of himself about:

“I try not to think about it,” he said. “Obviously it’s going to be a really big match for me and so many things at stake.

“Right now I’m going to enjoy this win. Try to rest as much as possible so I can be ready for that big day.”

Tim Henman on Carlos Alcaraz’s performance in win over Taylor Fritz

Henman, speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, was full of praise for the contest, describing it as one of the most compelling matches he’s seen this year.

With Sinner and Alcaraz dominating much of the season, standout matches have been rare, but Henman believes this one deserves mention among the best.

“From the word go, the quality, the intensity, the ball striking was just amazing, top five matches of this year, for sure. Alcaraz… we just heard him talking about his relief of finding the solutions against Fritz; he was a little bit self-critical. But I think so much of it was about the quality of Taylor Fritz.

Alcaraz wraps up his round-robin play against Musetti next and should be confident of advancing with a perfect record. Musetti stepped in following Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal and may find it tough to stop an in-form Alcaraz from making it three wins from three.