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Carlos Alcaraz claimed an opening victory at the ATP Finals for the first time, beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets.
The top seed is making his third appearance at the end-of-season showpiece in Turin having reached the semi-finals on his debut in 2023 before falling at the group stage last year.
On both occasions, Alcaraz was beaten in his first match, but he put that right this time with a 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory over seventh-seed De Minaur.
The young Spaniard made a flying start and looked set for an easy first set when he led 4-1 40-0, but De Minaur fought back and led 5-3 in the tie-break only for Alcaraz to win four points in a row.
In the second set, Alcaraz maintained his lead to get his quest for a first ATP Finals title and the year-ending world No 1 ranking off to the perfect start.
“I’ve been struggling in the past few years to come to the end of the year with motivation,” said Alcaraz.
“This year is a little bit different, which I’m proud about. I’m doing the right things to give myself a shot to try and win this tournament.
“It was a really difficult match. On this surface, Alex makes the most of the speed of the ball, he’s super fast and really difficult on return. I’m just really happy to get through this really difficult challenge.”
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