Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed, kicked off his ATP Finals campaign with a commanding 7-6(5), 6-2 victory over Australia’s Alex de Minaur in their round-robin match on Sunday in Turin. This marks Alcaraz’s first win in an opening match at the prestigious season-ending championships. Despite a spirited effort from De Minaur, who rallied from a 4-1 deficit to force a tiebreak in the first set, Alcaraz’s resilience and skill proved decisive. The Spaniard broke De Minaur’s serve twice in the second set, securing a 4-1 lead and ultimately closing out the match without allowing a comeback. Both players aimed to improve upon their disappointing performances from last year, where Alcaraz lost two of his three round-robin matches and De Minaur suffered three consecutive defeats. Alcaraz, who is vying to end the year as the world number one, must reach the final with at least one round-robin win or sweep his group matches to secure the top ranking for the second time. Meanwhile, defending champion Jannik Sinner must retain his title to have any chance of finishing the year in the top spot. The ATP Finals, featuring the world’s top eight singles players and doubles teams, boasts a record prize pool of $15.5 million and offers 1,500 ranking points. The tournament will conclude with the final at the Inalpi Arena in Turin on November 16.