Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2-Spain), who has struggled to find his stride in the second half of the year, has lost the inaugural edition of the season’s “king of the hill” event, the men’s ATP Nitto Finals ($15 million in prize money).
Alcaraz was upset 1-2 (7-6<7-3>3-6 4-6) by Alexander Tsverev (No. 7-Germany) in the first round of the Red Group on the second day of the tournament in Turin, Italy, on Nov. 13 (local time).
It was the second consecutive tournament that Alcaraz lost the first round.
At the previous event, the Paris Masters, he lost the first set for the first time this year.
Alcaraz was crowned Wimbledon men’s singles champion in July after defeating Novak Djokovic (No. 1-Serbia) in the final, and the world hailed him as the “new emperor”.
However, after losing in the semifinals at the US Open in August, where he attempted to win back-to-back titles, he struggled due to frequent injuries.
He lost in the semifinals in Beijing, China, in September, packed up in the round of 16 at the Shanghai Masters in October, and then withdrew from the Basel Indoor in Switzerland with a back injury.
The match was Alcaraz’s Finals debut. The two-time defending champion was unable to overcome a late charge from Tsverev, so his ‘debut win’ will have to wait until another time.
The Finals features two groups of eight players, with the first and second place finishers in each group playing a best-of-four tournament to determine the winner.
Alcaraz will go in search of his first victory against Andrei Rublev (No. 5-Russia) on Friday. 먹튀검증