Carlos Alcaraz came through a thriller against Taylor Fritz to move within one win of the year-end world number one ranking and Lorenzo Musetti captivated the crowd at the ATP Finals in Turin
Spanish top seed Alcaraz battled back to overcome American Fritz 6-7 (2-7) 7-5 6-3 in a high-quality two-hour and 48-minute contest. But despite achieving back-to-back victories, Alcaraz must wait to confirm his place in the knockout stages after Musetti's stirring victory against Alex de Minaur.
Backed by passionate support, ninth seed Musetti produced a remarkable comeback from 5-3 down in the deciding set to prevail 7-5 3-6 7-5. Alcaraz will seal the world number one ranking - and a place in the semi-finals - with victory over Musetti on Thursday.
Rival Jannik Sinner must defend his title and hope Alcaraz loses a group match and does not reach the final to claim the top ranking. On whether achieving the year-end number one ranking played on his mind during his match, Alcaraz, 22, said: "It's really difficult not to think about the number one spot.
Having contested six matches in the past seven days after his run to the Athens Open final, Musetti will be grateful for a rest after his two-hour and 48-minute epic. Musetti's match against De Minaur was paused for about eight minutes because of a medical emergency in the stands. Two spectators died from cardiac arrests at the tournament on Monday.