Carlos Alcaraz triumphs over Alex de Minaur in ATP Finals opener

TURIN, Italy (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz got his bid to win a first ATP Finals crown — and claim the year-end No. 1 ranking — off to a positive start on Sunday with a straight-set victory over Alex de Minaur.

Alcaraz recovered from a topsy-turvy opening set to triumph 7-6 (5), 6-2 over the seventh-seeded De Minaur in the opening match of the season-ending event for the top eight men’s players.

Ben Shelton saw three set points saved on his ATP Finals debut with two-time champion Alexander Zverev going on to beat the American 6-3, 7-6 (6).

Top-seeded Alcaraz is involved in a tussle with defending champion Jannik Sinner to end the year as No. 1 and the Spaniard can secure that — regardless of what his rival does — if he reaches the final.

It was the first time Alcaraz had won his ATP Finals opener.

“This tournament is one of the best tournaments we have on tour, without a doubt,” Alcaraz said. “We’re playing against the best players in the world, which shows how difficult and important it is.

"I’ve been struggling in the past few years to come to the end of the year with motivation. 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.”

Alcaraz seemed in firm control of the opening set. He had already broken De Minaur to love and threatened to do the same in the sixth game to go 5-1 up, but the Australian fought back to deuce before staving off another break point and then taking the game.

De Minaur then broke back and took the set to a tiebreaker where he had a 5-3 advantage before Alcaraz rallied.

The 22-year-old Alcaraz dominated the second set, dropping his serve early but winning all the other games and sealing the victory with a cross-court backhand on his second match point.

Taylor Fritz is also in the Jimmy Connors group with Alcaraz, De Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti, who replaced the injured Novak Djokovic.

The Bjorn Borg group has Sinner, Zverev, Shelton and Felix Auger-Aliassime.

It took the third-seeded Zverev just 28 minutes to wrap up the first set against Shelton, who then appeared to step up a gear and had a great chance to level the match in the second-set tiebreaker.

Shelton raced into a 4-0 lead and wasted three set points before sending a backhand wide to hand Zverev the victory after 93 minutes.

The top two finishers in each group advance to the semifinals.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

United States' Ben Shelton returns the ball to Germany's Alexander Zverev during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Germany's Alexander Zverev reacts after winning a point against United States' Ben Shelton during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Australia's Alex de Minaur returns the ball to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Australia's Alex de Minaur returns the ball to Spain's Carlos Alcaraz during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz returns the ball to Australia's Alex de Minaur during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz reacts after winning a point against Australia's Alex de Minaur during their singles tennis match of the ATP World Tour Finals, in Turin, Italy, Sunday, Nov. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Antonio Calanni)

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Jose Fernandez strode to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning during his first big league game in a pressure-packed spot against four-time All-Star closer Kenley Jansen.

The three-run homer that followed capped one of the most powerful MLB regular-season debuts in modern history.

The Venezuelan became just the seventh player since 1900 to hit two homers in his debut, and the second was a go-ahead shot that led the Diamondbacks over the Detroit Tigers 7-5 on Tuesday night.

“I returned to my days as a kid — just a dream come true,” a smiling Fernandez said through an interpreter.

In a strange twist, two of the seven two-homer debuts have occurred over the past six days. Cleveland phenom Chase DeLauter went deep twice in his first career regular-season game last Thursday after making his MLB debut in the playoffs last season.

The 22-year-old Fernandez wasn't on the D-backs' opening-day roster, joining the team on Monday after Pavin Smith went on the 10-day injured list with left elbow soreness. He made the most of his first opportunity, finishing with three hits and four RBIs.

Not bad for a guy ranked as the No. 27 prospect in the organization, according to MLB.com

“He deserves all this credit,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “We’re so proud of him. He’s a player who came through our system, through our academy, and it’s a great story, a great baseball story. We’ve known about Jose for a long time. We knew he was coming.”

Fernandez hit an infield single in his first big league at-bat and added a solo homer his next time up. The three-run drive that followed put him in elite company, joining DeLauter, Trevor Story (2016), J.P. Arencibia (2010), Mark Quinn (1999), Bert Campaneris (1964) and Bob Nieman (1951) as players with two-homer debuts.

“Stay calm, keep the emotions in check, I knew something like that could happen,” Fernandez said. “Just look for a pitch.”

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/mlb

Arizona Diamondbacks' Jose Fernandez (11) looks skyward after hitting a home run in his first game during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Jose Fernandez, middle, celebrates his second home run with teammates Geraldo Perdomo, left, Alek Thomas, right, during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

Arizona Diamondbacks' Jose Fernandez gets a gatorade bath after hitting two home runs and four RBI's in his first major league baseball game against the Detroit Tigers Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)