As the world’s No. 2 player, Carlos Alcaraz has won a mountain of championships and achieved myriad personal benchmarks.

On Sunday in Turin, Italy, he took a step toward another one by downing Alex de Minaur to kick off a potential run at the Nitto ATP Finals.

The prestigious end-of-season finale had been unkind to Alcaraz in previous years. He lost to Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev in 2024, failing to make it out of the group stage.

But at Inalpi Arena Sunday, Alcaraz overcame a shaky first set to take down Australia’s de Minaur 7-6 (5), 6-2 in Jimmy Connors Group play, much to the Spaniard’s relief.

“This tournament is one of the best tournaments we have on Tour, without a doubt,” Alcaraz said. “We’re playing against the best players in the world, which shows how difficult and important it is.

“I’ve been struggling in the past few years to come to the end of the year with motivation. This year is a little bit different, which I’m proud about (as) I’m doing the right things to give myself a shot to try and win this tournament.”

Alcaraz sprinted out to a 4-1 lead in the first set on the indoor hard court before dropping three straight games. From there, it was a nip-and-tuck affair, with Alcaraz’s four aces making up for his two double faults.

The second set reflected more of Alcaraz’s customary dominance, as Alcaraz was outstanding on first returns (six of eight points won) and break points (converting all three chances). He won on total points 28-17 to conclude the one hours, 40-minute victory.

“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, and happy with how I’m playing (going into) the next matches.”

Alcaraz will next face either Taylor Fritz or Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who square off Monday.

One of Alcaraz’s previous tormentors, Zverev, faced American Ben Shelton in the latter match of the day in the Bjorn Borg Group. Zverev , from Germany, saved three set points during the second-set tiebreaker to beat Shelton 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Neither player broke serve during the second set, but Shelton jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the tiebreaker. He had triple set point at 6-3, only for Zverev to rip off five straight points to turn the tide and end the match.

The next match in the Borg Group will pit Italian star and defending champion Jannik Sinner against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime.

–Field Level Media