A victorious first match is worth celebrating, but the lack of focus must be warned against.

The 2025 Turin ATP Finals began last night, and the opening match saw the Jimmy Connors group’s number one seed, Spain’s all-around player Alcaraz, face off against the seventh seed, Australia’s swift De Minaur. The two fought hard for two sets lasting 1 hour and 40 minutes, providing a very exciting contest.

De Minaur had a strong season, entering the Turin Finals with a 55-21 record, second only to Alcaraz’s career-best 67-8. This allowed him to qualify for the year-end finals for the second consecutive year, a commendable achievement. Although De Minaur has faced Alcaraz four times in his career and lost all, including twice this year, his quick movement and tenacity make him a player no one should underestimate.

Indeed, in last night’s opening match, De Minaur gave Alcaraz significant trouble. Although the final score was 6-7, 2-6, marking De Minaur’s fifth career loss to Alcaraz, the Spaniard’s victory was far from easy, especially the nail-biting first-set tiebreak.

In the first set, Alcaraz started smoothly, breaking serve in the fourth game and holding to lead 4-1 over De Minaur. In the sixth game, while De Minaur was serving, Alcaraz earned three consecutive break points, looking poised to dominate. However, the resilient De Minaur fought back fiercely, winning five straight points to hold serve and shatter Alcaraz’s hopes of a quick win. In the seventh game, gaining momentum, De Minaur broke serve on his second break point and then held to level the score at 4-4. Both players then held serve until the set went to a tiebreak.

During the first-set tiebreak, De Minaur secured the first mini-break and then a second, leading 5-4. Had he won the next two service points, he would have taken the tiebreak 7-4. Unfortunately, De Minaur missed this chance, losing two consecutive service points and falling behind 5-6. Alcaraz narrowly escaped danger and then scored the winning point to claim the set.

In the second set, Alcaraz noticeably raised his level and focused more seriously, winning it 6-2. Yet after breaking serve in the first game, he was quickly broken back in the second, something worth reflecting on.

Without watching the match, one might be misled by the 7-6, 6-2 scoreline into thinking Alcaraz was in great form and won comfortably. In reality, his performance fluctuated greatly, committing 28 unforced errors overall, with a glaring 19 in the first set alone. This is reminiscent of his 54 unforced errors in the second round loss to veteran Norrie at the Paris Masters.

Therefore, while Alcaraz’s opening win in the group stage is commendable, his lack of concentration and insufficient seriousness remain concerns that must be addressed with high alertness in the upcoming matches.

Due to Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion and seven-time year-end finals winner from Serbia, withdrawing unexpectedly from the 2025 ATP Turin Finals, world No. 9 Musetti, the only left-handed player in the top ten, got the fortunate chance to enter the tournament. After defeating De Minaur, Alcaraz expressed at the press conference: “It’s great that Djokovic isn’t playing because facing him is always extremely tough. I’m happy Musetti is now in our group.”

Alcaraz has reason to be excited since he leads Musetti 6-1 in their seven career meetings. Their first encounter was at the 2022 ATP250 Umag final, where Alcaraz lost in three sets. Since then, in six matches—including four on clay and two on hard courts—Alcaraz has won every time, including three clay-court clashes this year.

However, Alcaraz must not get overconfident or forget that he has previously been surprisingly defeated by lower-ranked or lesser-known players. Musetti is a left-handed prodigy with strong attacking skills and has performed excellently this year, entering the world top ten for the first time. Having gained a last-minute spot at the year-end finals, Musetti will surely cherish the opportunity and strive to play his best tennis. Alcaraz must take Musetti seriously, approach the match earnestly, give his all, and maintain sharp focus.

(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Qicai Doufen)