Day one of the 2025 Nitto ATP Finals went according to seeding, with players ranked 1 and 3 advancing in straight sets.
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz opened his campaign with a confident straight sets win over Alex de Minaur, while two-time champion Alexander Zverev had a tougher time but showed his pedigree indoors, putting Ben Shelton in a second set tie break where he erased three set points.
Quick recap, match stats and highlights below.
Nitto ATP Finals 2025 Results Day 1
| Winner | Loser | Score line |
|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz (1) | Alex de Minaur (7) | 7-6(5) 6-2 |
| Alexander Zverev (3) | Ben Shelton (5) | 6-3 7-6(6) |
Carlos Alcaraz (1) def. Alex de Minaur (7) 7-6(5) 6-2
Carlos Alcaraz kicked off his 2025 ATP Finals campaign with an emphatic 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Alex de Minaur in Turin on Sunday, marking his first ever opening win in the season finale after previous losses to Zverev (2023) and Ruud (2024).
Important match highlights:
First set (7-6(5), 55 minutes): Alcaraz raced to a 4-1 lead in just 25 minutes with flashy shots and had three break points for 5-1, but De Minaur hit back to force a tie-break. Alcaraz twice erased mini-breaks and then won four straight points from 3-5 down to seal it. He hit 21 winners but had 19 unforced errors.
Second set (6-2, 45 minutes): The Spaniard turned in his aggression, built another lead, cut down on the mistakes and closed comfortably. He improved to 5-0 in their ATP Head2Head
Quote after the match (Alcaraz):
Praised the tournament’s prestige and level of difficulty against the world’s best. Noted improved motivation at the end of the year after previous struggles.
This tournament is one of the best tournaments we have on Tour, hands down. We play against the best players in the world, which shows how difficult and important it is. I’ve struggled the past few years to stay motivated as the year draws to a close. This year is a little different, which I’m proud of [as] I’m doing the right things to give myself a chance 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 is super quick and really hard on the rebound. I’m just really happy to get through this really tough challenge, and happy with how I’m playing [going into] next matches. Alcraz on his win over de Minaur.
Broader context:
- Match length: 1 hour, 40 minutes.
- Alcaraz’s stats in 2025: Tour-leading 68 wins, 8 titles.
- End of year no. 1 race: Need another 250 points to step over Jannik Sinner (every RR win = 200 points).
- Next: Tuesday vs. Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti in the Jimmy Connors Group.
Match statistics
| Carlos Alcaraz | Alex de Minaur | |
|---|---|---|
| Winner | 20 | 7 |
| Unforced errors | 9 | 3 |
| Ace | 5 | 4 |
| Double mistake | 3 | 0 |
| 1st serving % | 67% (48/72) | 52% (30/58) |
| 1st Serve point won | 63% (30/48) | 63% (19/30) |
| 2nd serve point won | 58% (14/24) | 43% (28/12) |
| Breakpoints saved | 60% (3/5) | 43% (3/7) |
| Service game | 80% (8/10) | 60% (6/10) |
| 1st return point won | 37% (11/30) | 38% (18/48) |
| 2nd return point won | 57% (16/28) | 42% (10/24) |
| Break point won | 57% (4/7) | 40% (2/5) |
| Return game | 40% (4/10) | 20% (2/10) |
| Pressure points | 58% (7/12) | 42% (5/12) |
| Service points | 61% (44/72) | 53% (31/58) |
| Return points | 47% (27/58) | 39% (28/72) |
| Net points | 69% (9/13) | 67% (8/12) |
| Total points | 55% (71/130) | 45% (59/130) |
| Match point saved | 0 | 1 |
| Max points in a row | 8 | 5 |
| Total game | 60% (20/12) | 40% (8/20) |
| Max games in a row | 4 | 3 |
Highlights
Alexander Zverev (3) def. Ben Shelton (5) 6-3 7-6(6)
Alexander Zverev kicked off his 2025 Nitto ATP Finals campaign with a comprehensive 6-3, 7-6(6) victory over Ben Shelton on Sunday night, earning his first win in the Björn Borg Group and chasing a third career title in the season finale.
Important match highlights:
First set (6-3, 38 minutes): Zverev dominated from the outset and never faced a break point. He pounced on Shelton’s second serve, winning 89% (8/9) of those return points, and broke twice to effectively seal the opener.
Second set (7-6(6), 55 minutes): Shelton raised his level, saving two break points at 2-2 and pushing for a tie-break. The American rose to 4/0 and then held three set points at 6/3. But a netted forehand at 6/5 gave Zverev momentum, and the German closed clinically. He improved to 5-0 in their ATP Head-to-Head record, with four wins in 2025 (Munich final, Stuttgart semi-final, Cincinnati quarter-final and now Turin).
Quotes and context after the match:
- Match length: 93 minutes.
- Zverev, competing just eight days after suffering a leg injury in his Paris SF loss to Sinner, showed no lingering effects in a high-quality performance
- The two-time champion (2018 London, 2021 Turin) is bidding to become the eighth man with three Nitto ATP Finals titles.
He is an incredibly aggressive player. Probably one of the most aggressive in the world. In the tie-break, he got off to a great start. Yes, I missed maybe one or two first serves and the passing shot he hit (at 5/4) was ridiculous. I felt I had to control the things that I could control and I did them well. At the end of the day, when the point is on his serve it is always in his control. When I get the rebound back and in the rally, then I can do something. I did that well at the end of the tie-break and I’m super happy with that win. Zverev on his win over Shelton.
Broader context:
- Zverev’s stats in 2025: Has not won the big races but has shown strong consistency over 52 weeks.
- End of year no. 1 race: Never in contention (trailing Sinner and Alcaraz by ~5,800 points before finals). The 1000th ranked player is closer to him than he is to Alcaraz/Sinner
- Next: Tuesday vs Jannik Sinner or Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Björn Borg group.
Match statistics
| Alexander Zverev | Ben Shelton | |
|---|---|---|
| Ace | 5 | 7 |
| Double mistake | 0 | 2 |
| 1st serving % | 81% (44/54) | 70% (50/71) |
| 1st Serve point won | 84% (37/44) | 78% (39/50) |
| 2nd serve point won | 70% (7/10) | 24% (5/21) |
| Breakpoints saved | (0/0) | 60% (3/5) |
| Service game | 100% (10/10) | 82% (9/11) |
| 1st return point won | 22% (11/50) | 16% (7/44) |
| 2nd return point won | 76% (16/21) | 30% (3/10) |
| Break point won | 40% (2/5) | (0/0) |
| Return game | 18% (2/11) | 0% (0/10) |
| Pressure points | 40% (2/5) | 60% (3/5) |
| Service points | 81% (44/54) | 62% (44/71) |
| Return points | 38% (27/71) | 19% (10/54) |
| Total points | 57% (71/125) | 43% (54/125) |
| Match point saved | 0 | 0 |
| Max points in a row | 12 | 7 |
| Total game | 57% (21/12) | 43% (9/21) |
| Max games in a row | 3 | 1 |
Highlights
2025 ATP Finals Day 2 schedule
- 11:30: Marcelo Arevalo / Mate Pavcic (4) vs Joe Salisbury / Neil Skupski (5)
- Not before 2pm: Lorenzo Musetti (9) vs Taylor Fritz (6)
- 18.00: Harri Heliovaara / Henry Patten (2) vs Christian Harrison / Evan King (8)
- Not before 20.30: Jannik Sinner (2) vs Felix Auger-Aliassime (8)
