Lorenzo Musetti admits what really surprised him about Carlos Alcaraz during their ATP Finals match

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Although he fought hard, Lorenzo Musetti was powerless to stop Carlos Alcaraz on his world-dominating conquest last night.

After all, despite being backed by a raucous Italian crowd, it was the Spaniard who soared to victory, and in doing so, not only qualified for the ATP Finals’ semi-finals, but also secured the year-end world number one spot.

Alcaraz reacted to securing the year-end world number one immediately after on-court, and naturally, he cut a cheerful figure.

This achievement marked the culmination of a scintillating year for the 22-year-old, including three Masters 1000 titles and a further two major titles.

And yet, despite his consistent quality throughout the last 11 months, Musetti still admitted he was left surprised by one thing he noticed during his match against the confirmed world number one.

Lorenzo Musetti rates Carlos Alcaraz’s level during their ATP Finals match

Speaking to the press, the Italian began by rating Carlos Alcaraz’s level, admitting: “Yeah, I think he was really focused. I knew that he wanted to win badly tonight. He served really well. I think he didn’t have so many ups and downs with the serve. That gave me a lot of pressure on the rallies.

“I saw him playing this surface with a lot of ups and downs. Now the performance of tonight was really consistent in every side of the game. Starting even from the return, he’s starting to be really aggressive with the return.”

Musetti then pinpointed his moment of surprise: “The thing that surprised me the most is the first shot after the serve with the forehand. He generates the power and speed; really, really tough to handle.”

Then asked how far he feels from the likes of Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, he added: “Well, I don’t know. Probably have to discover that. Maybe if I knew that, I will be closer (smiling).

“Of course, I think they have something different from others in terms of abilities. Right now, I see in the physical conditions, the way they move and the way they recover and the way they slide, they move during the rallies, is the thing that impresses me the most, honestly. The way they change from defence to offence is probably the thing that I need to increase and improve for the next season so far.”

Could we finish the year with one last Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner match?

Given how 2025 has gone, it would arguably be fitting to see Alcaraz and Sinner conclude the ATP Tour’s action with one final showdown for this ongoing tournament.

After all, they have competed relentlessly throughout the year and set themselves even further apart from the rest of the chasing pack.

They contested three straight Grand Slam finals and shared all four titles across a mesmeric year.

With Sinner confirmed to play Alex de Minaur in one semi-final, and Alcaraz expected to play the winner of Alexander Zverev vs Felix Auger-Aliassime, we do seem poised to enjoy one final showdown between the top two-ranked players on the planet for one of the biggest prizes in tennis.