World number one Carlos Alcaraz felt “relieved” after battling back from a set down to edge Taylor Fritz in a thrilling contest and move closer to a place in the last 16 at the ATP Finals in Turin.
With his victory, Alcaraz also moved one step closer to securing the year-end world number one spot in his battle with Jannik Sinner for that honor.
Sixth-seeded American Fritz, a 2024 finalist, faced Alcaraz for much of their two hours and 48 minutes together on court.
But the Spaniard, as he so often does, found another gear to turn things around and claim a 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 victory.
“It was close. I felt like I ran more than him, wrestled more than him,” Alcaraz said.
“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through physically. I’m really happy that I found a way to come back and find his weaknesses.”
Alcaraz, one win away from the year-end world No. 1 spot, added: “I’m trying not to think about it. It’s going to be a very big match for me (against Lorenzo Musetti in his final group match) and I’ll try not to let my nerves give me a hard time.”
Both players were looking for back-to-back victories, after Alcaraz beat Australian Alex de Minaur and Fritz also won in straight sets against Italian Musetti.
De Minaur’s victory against Musetti in Tuesday’s other match in the Jimmy Connors group would confirm Alcaraz’s place in the last four ahead of his final round-robin match against the Italian.
