After all, if someone picks your backhand over Novak Djokovic's, it must be an ultimate weapon. At the net, Alcaraz played a safe bet and went with the eight-time Wimbledon champion, Roger Federer.

ATP Finals 2025 take place in Turin, November 9-16, live on Sky Sports Tennis, as this years top eight mens players in the world face off; watch ATP and WTA action on Sky Sports Tennis and Sky Sports+ which is integrated into Sky TV,

The top-seeded Spaniard opened his campaign with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur on Sunday. The victory placed him second in the Jimmy Connors Group, just behind Taylor Fritz, who also won in straight sets and holds a narrow edge based on percentage of games won.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic should have shared a group at the ATP Finals. However, Novak withdrew from Turin, propelling Lorenzo Musetti into the spotlight after beating him in the Athens final.

Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz played a full-intensity practice match at Pala Alpitour ahead of the ATP Finals in Turin

Alcaraz needs to win three matches at the finals to finish 2025 atop the rankings for the second time in his career. Alcaraz became the youngest player to finish a year at No. 1 when he achieved the feat as a 19-year-old in 2022.

This Challenger clash between the 15-year-old Spaniard and the 17-year-old Italian was the equivalent of watching Nolan Ryan take the mound for the Single-A Greenville Mets, or Mike Tyson’s first fight in Albany, N.Y. All transformative talents begin somewhere—but in this case, you get to watch two of them play one another.

The 22-year-old tennis player answered a question from Elena Vesnina, a former tennis player, who asked him about his love status after the ATP Finals. Carlos Alcaraz seemed confused by such a question, but answered honestly that he was single. “I have a question from a lot of girls around the world,” she said. “Your heart has been taken?”