By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, November 11, 2025
Photo: Clive Brunskill/Getty
Climbing to the top of the tennis mountain requires total commitment to the cause.
Standing there takes courage and strong self-belief.
Down a set, Carlos Alcaraz offered creativity and ability to finish forward Taylor Fritz 6-7(2), 7-5, 6-3 in thrilling drama to extend his ATP Finals record to 2-0 in the Jimmy Connors Group.
Alcaraz won 23 of Fritz’s 26 trips to the net for the fifth time in six meetings and moved within one win of securing the No. 1 of the end of the year.
If Alcaraz defeats Italian Lorenzo Musetti in his final round match, he will seal the year-end top spot for the second time in the last four years. Even if Musetti upsets the two-time US Open champion, Alcaraz can still win the No. 1 at the end of the year reaching the final of Turin. If Alex de Minaur defeats Musetti later today, the Athens finalist is eliminated from the semi-final race.
It was Alcarazi’s 50th career Top 10 win as he raised his 2025 record to 69-8 in his bid to reach a first ATP Finals championship match and regain the year-end No. 1 ranking.
“You know before the game that you have to do your best,” Alcaraz said Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj. “You’re playing against the best tennis players in the world. So they usually don’t let you back into the match if you lose a little bit of focus. That means it doesn’t matter if it’s two hours, three hours, you have to focus on every point.
“It makes it really difficult to play against the top. In matches, you’re going to be really focused on playing your best tennis if you want to beat them.”
What a match 🔥@carlosalcaraz moves to the top of the pack Jimmy Connors with a hard fought win over Fritz!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/XezuCJafhz
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 11, 2025
Have a thought for Fritz, who put up a phenomenal fight today.
Ultimately, two slow service games – when Fritz broke serve in the final game of the second set and Alcaraz broke for a 4-2 lead in the decider – cost the 2024 finalist a shot at his second win over the Spaniard in three months. Through two Torino matches, Fritz has fired 27 aces against just two double faults. Today, Fritz hit deep drives that limited Alcaraz from applying his all-court skills down the stretch and saved eight of 11 break points.
Alcaraz’s explosive court coverage and creativity in all areas – he lined up his shots and rose for some fantastic high shots – helped him cross the finish line after a frantic two hour and 48 minute battle.
“In the return, I had chances in the first game, I broke down in the second game of the return, after that I didn’t know what happened because I didn’t feel comfortable in the return,” said Alcaraz. Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj. “He was serving really well. So I was a set and a half down that I couldn’t return any serves, to be honest. It was really hard for me to even mentally hang in there.
“I’m really glad I found a way. I just (left) to give myself more time to return his serve. I had to run more the first two, three shots of each point, but I’m really glad I got enough energy to do that, to recover on the point. And I’m playing great tennis.”
The server was under stress from the start of today’s match in last month’s Tokyo final, which Alcaraz won 6-4, 6-4 to avenge his Laver Cup loss to Fritz.
Facing a pair of break points, Fritz stood tall, weathering a nine-minute hold that spanned 18 points to break open the match.
Next it was Alcaraz’s turn to face the fire.
The top-seeded Spaniard avoided three break points by deftly using a drop-shot-lob winner combination as he held in the second game. Two games required 20 minutes of play.
Hitting a back-to-back winner, Alcaraz made it 15 for a 2-1 lead. In his opening match against Alex de Minaur, Alcaraz let the break slip away and Fritz, knowing the Spaniard could suffer a lapse in concentration, broke the right arm by hitting a big shot that set up a fantastic forehand volley to level at four games.
2024 finalist Fritz’s pressure again won two break points in the eighth game. Alcaraz unleashed heavy serves to save the two before spinning a barrage of hand motions and exploding into a “Vamos!” creating a deadlock with 4 all.
Alcaraz served-and-volleyed to force a first-set tiebreaker after 64 tense minutes of play.
Foresight, accuracy and acceleration with the ace pushed Fritz to the tiebreaker.
Although Alcaraz had used the forehand to great effect throughout the set, Fritz read it, ran it and responded with a backhand for the mini-break and a 2-1 lead. Alcaraz lost a pair back as Fritz made a second mini-break to extend to 5-2.
Turning back, Fritz fired two straight aces down the T, closing out the 70-minute opener in emphatic fashion.
He means business 😤
Last year’s finalist @Taylor_Fritz97 takes the first set 7-6 from Alcaraz!#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/tnWMFYd4e3
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 11, 2025
The 28-year-old Fritz served 78 percent and landed two of his six aces in the extra session.
Driving the ball with conviction, Fritz pressured Alcaraz in the fifth game.
A marathon 14-minute game lasted eight points and saw Alcaraz unleash a 137 mph ace to save a second break point. Alcaraz, who had won 13 of 14 points at the net up to that point, launched another ace down the tee to cap off the epic by closing his eyes and throwing his arms up to hold for 3-2.
Bringing another level 🤯
What a way to save the break point 🥵@carlosalcaraz #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/Jqh291GcMD
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 11, 2025
Responding with his second love hold of the match, Fritz leveled after six games.
The American saved a break point to hold in the eighth game and then hit a backhand winner down the line to level at two in the ninth game. Fritz had Alcaraz on his wing corner, but in a shot choice he’s probably still bad at now, he failed to hit the open court, turned right back to his opponent and Alcaraz made him pay with a hand pass. This shot helped Alcaraz hold on for 5-4.
Serving at 5-6, Fritz made a pair of errors wrapped around an Alcaraz net return winner to fall into a triple point hole.
On the second set point, Alcaraz hit a running forehand pass that pinned Fritz at the net for the only break of the second set to make it 7-5. Alcaraz celebrated by throwing a ball in the air to force a final set – the first three sets of the tournament – after two hours, 10 minutes of fierce fighting.
The break in the final game of the second set gave Alcaraz the advantage to serve first in the decider.
In the sixth game, Fritz hit his second double fault of the day and was rattled by a deep return that bounced past his laces to face triple break point. On the second break point, Alcaraz unleashed a deep foray into the corner forcing a net counterattack to score the decisive break for 4-2. Alcaraz confirmed the break at 15 for 5-2.
Fritz tried to fight back, avoiding three match points and then hit a brilliant half-volley from the baseline that helped him hold on for 3-5.
Hitting a pair of forehand winners earned Alcarazi three more match points and when Fritz missed a backhand, this battle, 12 minutes past three hours, was over.
An exuberant Alcaraz raised his arms to his boxes where coaches Juan Carlos Ferrero and Samuel Lopez leaped from their seats pumping their fists at him.
