By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, November 11, 2025Photo credit score: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Climbing to the highest of the tennis mountain requires full dedication to the trigger.
Staying there calls for daring and powerful self perception.
Down a set, Carlos Alcaraz delivered creativity and ahead ending expertise heading off Taylor Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 in a dizzying drama to boost his ATP Finals file to 2-0 within the Jimmy Connors Group.
Alcaraz received 23 of 26 journeys to web edging Fritz for the fifth time in six conferences and transferring to inside one win of securing the year-end No. 1 rating.
If Alcaraz defeats Italian Lorenzo Musetti in his closing round-robin match he’ll seal the year-end prime spot for the second time within the final 4 years. Even when Musetti upsets the two-time US Open champion, Alcaraz can nonetheless earn the year-end No. 1 rating by reaching the Turin closing. If Alex de Minaur defeats Musetti later right this moment, the Athens finalist is eradicated from semifinal competition.
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It was Alcaraz’s fiftieth profession High 10 win as he raised his 2025 file to 69-8 in his quest to achieve a maiden ATP Finals championship match and regain year-end No. 1.
“You recognize earlier than the match that it’s important to do your greatest,” Alcaraz advised Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj. “You’re taking part in in opposition to the very best tennis gamers on this planet. So that they often not allow you to come again within the match when you lose the main focus a bit it. Meaning it doesn’t matter if it’s two hours, three hours, it’s important to be targeted on each level.
“That makes it actually troublesome to play in opposition to the highest. Within the match, you might be gonna be actually targeted on taking part in your greatest tennis if you wish to beat them.”
What a match 🔥@carlosalcaraz strikes to the highest of the Jimmy Connors group with a troublesome win over Fritz!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/XezuCJafhz
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 11, 2025
Spare a thought for Fritz, who staged an exceptional combat right this moment.
In the end, two sloppy service video games—when Fritz dropped serve within the closing recreation of the second set and Alcaraz’s break for a 4-2 lead within the decider—price the 2024 finalist a shot for his second win over the Spaniard within the final three months. By means of two Turin matches, Fritz has fired 27 aces in opposition to simply two double faults. At present, Fritz cracked deep drives that diminished Alcaraz’s from making use of his all-court expertise for stretches, and saved eight of 11 break factors.
Alcaraz’s explosive courtroom protection and all-court creativity—he dabbed drop photographs and soared for just a few implausible excessive backhand overheads—helped carry him throughout the end traces after a frenetic two hour, 48-minute battle.
“On return, I obtained possibilities within the first recreation, I broke within the second return recreation, after that I didn’t know what occurred as a result of I didn’t really feel snug on the return,” Alcaraz advised Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj. “He was serving rather well. So I used to be a set-and-a-half that I couldn’t return any serves, to be trustworthy. It was actually troublesome for me to even mentally to remain there.
“I’m actually comfortable that I discovered a manner. I simply [moved back] to present myself extra time to return his serve. I needed to run much more the primary two, three photographs in each level, however I’m actually comfortable that I obtained power sufficient to do it, to get well within the factors. And I’m taking part in nice tennis.”
The server was below stress from the beginning of right this moment’s rematch of final month’s Tokyo closing, which Alcaraz received 6-4, 6-4 to avenge his Laver Cup loss to Fritz.
Dealing with a pair of break factors, Fritz stood tall withstanding a nine-minute maintain that spanned 18 factors to open the match.
Then it was Alcaraz’s flip to face the hearth.
The highest-seeded Spaniard staved off three break factors deftly deploying the drop shot-lob winner combo as he held within the second recreation. Two video games required 20 minutes of play.
Dabbing a backhand drop shot winner, Alcaraz broke at 15 for a 2-1 lead. In his opener in opposition to Alex de Minaur, Alcaraz let the break slip away and Fritz, realizing the Spaniard can endure dips in focus, broke proper again banging a giant backhand that arrange a implausible forehand drive volley to stage after 4 video games.
The 2024 finalist Fritz strain once more gaining two break factors within the eighth recreation. Alcaraz launched heavy serves to save lots of each earlier than spinning a forehand swing volley and erupting in a loud “Vamos!” forging a 4-all impasse.
Alcaraz performed the serve-and-volley to power the first-set tiebreaker after 64 tense minutes of play.
Anticipation, accuracy and ace acceleration propelled Fritz by means of the tiebreaker.
Although Alcaraz had deployed the drop shot to nice impact all through the set, Fritz learn it, ran it down and answered with a backhand for the mini break and a 2-1 lead. Alcaraz missed a pair of backhands as Fritz took a second mini-break extending to 5-2.
Reaching again, Fritz torched two aces in a row down the T sealing the 70-minute opener in emphatic vogue.
He means enterprise 😤
Final 12 months’s finalist @Taylor_Fritz97 takes the primary set 7-6 off Alcaraz!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/tnWMFYd4e3
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 11, 2025
The 28-year-old Fritz served 78 p.c and pumped two of his six aces within the further session.
Driving the ball with conviction, Fritz utilized the vise-grip of strain on Alcaraz within the fifth recreation.
A marathon 14-minute recreation spanned eight deuce factors and noticed Alcaraz launch a 137 mph ace to save lots of a second break level. Alcaraz, who had received 13 of 14 factors at web by then, launched one other ace down the T capping that epic maintain by shutting his eyes and thrusting his arms up excessive holding for 3-2.
Bringing one other stage 🤯
What a option to save break level 🥵@carlosalcaraz #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/Jqh291GcMD
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 11, 2025
Answering along with his second love maintain of the match, Fritz leveled after six video games.
The American saved a break level to carry within the eighth recreation then banged a backhand winner down the road to attract even at deuce within the ninth recreation. Fritz had Alcaraz pinned in his forehand nook however in a shot alternative he’s in all probability nonetheless ruing proper now, he didn’t hit to the open courtroom, went proper again at his opponent and Alcaraz made him pay with a forehand go. That strike helped Alcaraz maintain for 5-4.
Serving at 5-6, Fritz dedicated a pair of errors wrapped round an Alcaraz net-cord return winner to fall right into a triple-set level gap.
On the second set level, Alcaraz ripped a working forehand go that handcuffed Fritz at web scoring the one break of the second set to take it 7-5. Alcaraz celebrated hurling an uppercut into the air to power a closing set—the primary three-setter of the match—after two hours, 10 minutes of ferocious combating.
The break within the closing recreation of set two gave Alcaraz the benefit of serving first within the decider.
Within the sixth recreation, Fritz hit his second double fault of the day and was flummoxed by a deep return that danced close to his shoelaces to face triple break level. On the second break level, Alcaraz unleashed a deep drive into the nook forcing a netted working reply scoring the essential break for 4-2. Alcaraz confirmed the break at 15 for 5-2.
Fritz went down combating, heading off three match factors then hitting a slick half-volley pick-up from the baseline that helped him maintain for 3-5.
Pounding a pair of forehand winners introduced Alcaraz three extra match factors and when Fritz missed a backhand this skirmish, 12 minutes shy of three hours, was over.
An exuberant Alcaraz raised his arms towards his packing containers the place coaches Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel Lopez leaped from their seats pumping their fists proper again at him.
