Carlos Alcaraz produced a stunning comeback to defeat Taylor Fritz on day three of the ATP Finals.
Fritz, who played magnificently against the Spaniard, was unfortunate not to walk away from the contest victorious.
However, Alcaraz produced a display of immense resilience, clinching a 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 victory against the 28-year-old American.
Alcaraz, who will face Lorenzo Musetti in his final round robin match, is now the strong favourite to win his round robin group after defeating Alex de Minaur on Sunday.
The Spaniard has never won the ATP Finals. If he does walk away from Turin with the trophy, he will end the year as the world number one ahead of Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz has won 50 matches against top-10 opponents
In defeating Fritz on Tuesday, Alcaraz joined a conversation dominated by elite players.
As per OptaAce, Carlos Alcaraz has claimed his 50th career ATP top 10 win in 73 matches.
Since 1973, only Jimmy Connors and Boris Becker have claimed 50 career ATP top 10 wins in fewer matches.
Connors achieved the total in 69 matches, while Becker accomplished the feat in 71 matches.
Rafael Nadal, a 20-time Grand Slam champion, achieved the feat in 73 matches. Lleyton Hewitt did so in 78 matches.
Alcaraz will now play Lorenzo Musetti, who lost to Taylor Fritz in his opening round robin match. Alcaraz has a 6-1 record against the Italian; he has won their last six meetings on the ATP Tour.
Alcaraz last defeated Musetti in the semi-finals of the 2025 French Open.
Meanwhile, Fritz will play Alex de Minaur. The pair have a 5-5 head-to-head record on the ATP Tour.
Fritz will need to utilise his ‘very underrated’ serve against de Minaur, who is yet to win a match at the tournament despite this being his second appearance.
Laura Robson reacts to Carlos Alcaraz versus Taylor Fritz
Laura Robson, a former junior Wimbledon champion, weighed in on Tuesday’s clash during Sky Sports’ coverage of the match.
Robson noted the exceptional play of Fritz, while also commenting on the resilience of Alcaraz.
Speaking on air, Robson said: “Just ridiculous, 2hr 48 mins, I think 2hr 45 of it was pure magic.
“[Carlos] Alcaraz left everything out on the court, as did Taylor Fritz. One of the best matches, if not the best match, I’ve seen Fritz play. He was brilliant, so committed to the game plan, was so aggressive, did so many things right, and still walks off the court having lost that match.
“That just goes to show how good the top two are at the moment. It’s such a shame, because he deserves to be 2-0 in the group. He’s going to come back in a couple of days’ time and fight for his place in the semifinals. This guy was magic for that last hour; he looks shattered.
“Stats-wise, it was pretty special. Not often that you get a ratio like that, 47 winners, 37 unforced errors, and to have Fritz pretty much even as well, it was just, for me, the net points that stood out towards the end of the match in particular.
“23 out of 26 for Alcaraz, when you compare it to Fritz, he tried everything, didn’t he? Came forward 30 times, but unfortunately, only converted 12 of them. But the serve really picked up from Alcaraz as the match went on.
“That first serve percentage in particular, and then the second serve points won. How you can lose a match with 75 per cent first serves in, if you’re Fritz? I just don’t know. That seems unfair to me. But if you’re being really picky, you could say the second serve points won dropped towards the end of the match, but that’s because Alcaraz changed his position, he adapted as you might expect. What a match. That was fun.”
