Carlos Alcaraz confirmed his status as the undisputed best player in the world last night, as he defeated Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets to qualify through the ATP Finals round robin.
In winning all three of his group matches, not only does he remain on track to win the entire event unbeaten, but he also ensured that Jannik Sinner simply could not catch him in the rankings.
As such, Carlos Alcaraz is expected to be presented with the year-end world number one trophy today to celebrate his special 2025 campaign.
Despite the relatively straightforward nature of his 6-4, 6-1 victory, there were some moments of inspiration for the six-time Grand Slam champion’s opponent, buoyed by a rampant home crowd.
And, despite the raw emotion and justified celebration after the win from the Spaniard, Laura Robson was left wishing for a little more from the match.
Laura Robson speaks about the ATP Finals crowd during Carlos Alcaraz vs Lorenzo Musetti
Speaking live on Sky Sports, the British pundit was effusive in her praise for Alcaraz, naturally.
However, that did not mean she departed feeling wholly fulfilled by the clash, instead admitting she had hoped for Musetti to have challenged the world number one more in order to give the Italian crowd something to latch onto.
Robson claimed: “I almost wish it were closer.
“Yeah, I just felt like the crowd was so fun and so enjoyable, and was so willing to sink their teeth and just something, anything that Musetti could give them. It would have been nice, especially early doors, and in the second, if he just held on physically, you did feel like it was the legs at the end that just got to him, and he had nothing left to give.
“And that’s when we saw him start to go to the drop shot, start to go, just poor shot selection, which you totally understand.”
She concluded by rating the spectacle of it all, despite the one-sided nature of the result: “But yeah, in some ways, I wanted another hour of it because the atmosphere was electric in here and then the noise, the foot stamping, everything about it, it’s exactly what you love about live sport.”
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s rivalry has only been strengthened
After yet another year where it felt like only Alcaraz and Sinner competed for the sport’s elite honours, this dramatic end-of-year event felt fitting to conclude 2025.
Of the last eight Grand Slam titles, they have each won four apiece, with the two actually contesting the last three major finals too.
Despite Alcaraz and Sinner’s friendly relationship, there have still been some fierce and iconic battles that have fuelled men’s tennis of late.
The hope is that someone else will soon emerge to challenge their duopoly, but for now, fans remain naturally enthused by their continued meetings.
This down-to-the-wire battle for the year-end world number one spot has merely added yet another notch to their already legendary rivalry, which could culminate in a meeting in the final of this year’s ATP Finals.
It really feels like their rivalry only grows with each passing tournament, and 2026 seems set to be more of the same.
