Alcaraz ignites No. 1 pursuit in Turin's tense opener
Under the Inalpi Arena's glare, Carlos Alcaraz confronts Alex de Minaur to reclaim momentum toward year-end supremacy, while Alexander Zverev braces for Ben Shelton's surge in a day primed for tactical fireworks and emotional resets.
In the heart of Turin, the Inalpi Arena hums with the quiet intensity of a season's climax as the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals dawn on Sunday, gathering the ATP Tour's elite for its revered year-end showdown. Day one launches with two singles battles and two doubles pairings, the indoor hard courts demanding sharp adaptations amid the cool alpine air and rising crowd murmurs. Carlos Alcaraz opens against Alex de Minaur in the Jimmy Connors Group, a matchup laced with redemption after the Spaniard's recent slip, before Alexander Zverev and Ben Shelton ignite the evening in the Bjorn Borg Group.
Alcaraz channels setback into supremacy drive
Seeded top via his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin despite ranking second behind Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz chases ATP Year-End No. 1 honors for the second time since 2022, a goal tied to reaching the final with at least one round-robin victory or sweeping his group. His shocking Paris opener loss to Cameron Norrie reopened the door for Sinner's return to the top, a jolt that now fuels the Spaniard's resolve with only one tour-level match since early October. Against De Minaur, whom he leads 4-0 head-to-head including wins in Rotterdam and Barcelona this season, Alcaraz must deploy explosive inside-out forehands to dictate from the baseline, countering the Australian's retrieval with early aggression on the quicker indoor surface.
De Minaur enters his second straight Nitto ATP Finals appearance boasting a Tour-high 42-14 hard-court record and 55 overall wins, surpassing his previous best of 48, his speed turning defense into prolonged rallies that test opponents' patience. The Australian's flat backhands down-the-line could force Alcaraz into riskier inside-in attempts, but to upset the favorite, he needs first-strike forehands to seize control before the Spaniard's topspin overwhelms. This duel blends Alcaraz's psychological reset with De Minaur's consistent grit, the arena's echoes amplifying each extended exchange as the group stage's ferocity takes shape.
"I think doing good in this tournament, winning matches here, it comes together with ending the year as No. 1," Alcaraz said of his twin goals in Turin. "It's kind of the same motivation. They stick together. I think it's going to be a real big and important week."
The Spaniard will vary his one–two combinations to exploit the hard courts' pace, aiming to shorten points against De Minaur's legs while the crowd's anticipation builds, hinting at a path where triumph here seals seasonal dominance.
Zverev counters Shelton's debut firepower
Alexander Zverev, twice Nitto ATP Finals champion in 2018 and 2021, faces Ben Shelton in the evening slot, their 4-0 head-to-head favoring the German across all three surfaces this year without the American taking a set. Zverev's form surges from a Vienna final and Paris semifinal, each clinched in third-set tie-breaks over Jacob Fearnley and Daniil Medvedev, his baseline precision ready to redirect Shelton's power on the indoor hard. With Jannik Sinner—the only player to beat him since mid-October and Shelton's recent Paris conqueror—looming in the group, this opener carries extra weight for positioning amid the Italian's shadow.
Shelton, the 23-year-old lefty making his Turin debut after retiring at the US Open with a left-shoulder injury, rebounded through three October events, reaching Paris quarters before Sinner halted him. He warmed up with a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev, a five-time Finals veteran, his big serve setting up inside-out returns that could pressure Zverev's backhand. Paralleling the top rankings battle, Shelton vies with Taylor Fritz for American No. 1, a spot he briefly held in 2024 but has yet to end the year atop, adding personal stakes to his aggressive net rushes and crosscourt probes.
"Overall I'm very pleased with the year I've had. I think I've shown some really good consistency and I've been able to play some good tennis on this surface," said the Aussie, who is seeking his first Nitto ATP Finals match win in his second Turin appearance. "Now looking towards the competition ahead, I think we've got a very tough group. We're all very capable of playing some good tennis and making life difficult for each other."
Zverev's serve-volley hybrids will target Shelton's inexperience, using deep returns to force errors in longer rallies, while the American's topspin variety aims to disrupt the German's rhythm under the lights, the matchup's tempo promising breakthroughs as fatigue from the season lingers.
Doubles open with title defenses and home hopes
The Peter Fleming Group starts doubles action as defending champions Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz face third seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, the latter duo fresh from Roland Garros and US Open triumphs this season. The Germans' net dominance and quick adjustments suit the indoor hard, testing the Spaniards' crosscourt lobs and poach setups that thrived on clay but must flatten for this pace. Opening the event, Krawietz and Puetz draw on last year's success to neutralize Zeballos' slice returns, their volleys echoing sharply as they seek to build early momentum in the round-robin.
Night doubles pits top seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool, pursuing an eighth title after a Tour-leading seven including Wimbledon, against home favorites Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, who reached the Australian Open final and claimed four crowns this year. The Italians' second straight Turin outing fuels their baseline-to-volley shifts with crowd energy, contrasting the Brits' precise one–two approaches that exploit the low bounce for clean winners. Bolelli and Vavassori's varied spins pressure returns in tight geometry, the local fervor heightening intensity as partnerships calibrate for the week's grind.
These doubles clashes layer tactical depth onto the singles narrative, where aggressive underspin and synchronized net play shape group standings from the outset, the arena's atmosphere weaving player drives into a collective push toward cathartic finishes or renewed chases in Turin's unfolding drama.
