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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.

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.

“At the beginning of the match I thought a little bit about it. During the match there were a lot of things to think about.

“The number one thoughts – I didn’t think about it at all during the match.”

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, 23, said: “With a big heart and a big passion – I don’t know from where – I started to play better.

“The support of the crowd was amazing, so I have to thank them all.”

Sixth seed Fritz, the 2024 runner-up, matched Alcaraz for much of their absorbing meeting. But Alcaraz, as he so often does, just found another gear to turn the match around.

An opening four games lasting 30 minutes set the tone, with both players exchanging breaks in lengthy service games.

Fritz, who won the pair’s most recent indoor meeting at the Laver Cup in September, missed two break points in the eighth game, but maintained pressure and seized control of the tie-break to deservedly claim a 70-minute first set.

Alcaraz earned a crucial hold of serve after an eighth deuce in a captivating 14-minute fifth game of the second set, pointing to his ear as he lapped up the crowd’s appreciation after saving two break points.

Fritz overcame his first test of the second set to seal an important hold for 4-4 but he could not escape four games later when, seemingly from nowhere, a rare double fault contributed to a 0-40 deficit – and Alcaraz took his opportunity.

Fritz continued to go toe-to-toe with his opponent and ended the match with 75% first serves in, but Alcaraz took full advantage when his level eventually dipped.

Breaking for a 4-2 lead, Alcaraz sought to finish in style and landed a spectacular overhead backhand drop shot to reach a third match point on Fritz’s serve.

Fritz rightfully received the adoration of the crowd for hanging in the contest, only for a free-flowing Alcaraz to serve out the match to love.

“It was tight. I felt I was struggling more than him,” Alcaraz added.

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.

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.

“At the beginning of the match I thought a little bit about it. During the match there were a lot of things to think about.

“The number one thoughts – I didn’t think about it at all during the match.”

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, 23, said: “With a big heart and a big passion – I don’t know from where – I started to play better.

“The support of the crowd was amazing, so I have to thank them all.”

Sixth seed Fritz, the 2024 runner-up, matched Alcaraz for much of their absorbing meeting. But Alcaraz, as he so often does, just found another gear to turn the match around.

An opening four games lasting 30 minutes set the tone, with both players exchanging breaks in lengthy service games.

Fritz, who won the pair’s most recent indoor meeting at the Laver Cup in September, missed two break points in the eighth game, but maintained pressure and seized control of the tie-break to deservedly claim a 70-minute first set.

Alcaraz earned a crucial hold of serve after an eighth deuce in a captivating 14-minute fifth game of the second set, pointing to his ear as he lapped up the crowd’s appreciation after saving two break points.

Fritz overcame his first test of the second set to seal an important hold for 4-4 but he could not escape four games later when, seemingly from nowhere, a rare double fault contributed to a 0-40 deficit – and Alcaraz took his opportunity.

Fritz continued to go toe-to-toe with his opponent and ended the match with 75% first serves in, but Alcaraz took full advantage when his level eventually dipped.

Breaking for a 4-2 lead, Alcaraz sought to finish in style and landed a spectacular overhead backhand drop shot to reach a third match point on Fritz’s serve.

Fritz rightfully received the adoration of the crowd for hanging in the contest, only for a free-flowing Alcaraz to serve out the match to love.

“It was tight. I felt I was struggling more than him,” Alcaraz added.

Manchester United are in the hunt for highly rated German midfielder Kennet Eichhorn, Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly is on the radar of four Premier League clubs, while the Gunners are yet to open contract talks with boss Mikel Arteta.

Manchester United have joined clubs including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich in the battle to sign 16-year-old German midfielder Kennet Eichhorn, who has a £8.8m to £10.5m (10m to 12m euros) release clause at Hertha Berlin. (Florian Plettenberg)

Everton, Fulham, West Ham, and Nottingham Forest are monitoring Arsenal full-back Myles Lewis-Skelly’s situation after England boss Thomas Tuchel said the 19-year-old needs more minutes to be considered for his squad. (Caught Offside)

Arsenal are yet to hold talks with boss Mikel Arteta over a new contract, with the Spaniard set to have 18 months left on his deal at the turn of the year. (ESPN)

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim is open to keeping Brazil midfielder Casemiro at the club beyond his current contract, which expires at the end of the season, as long as the 33-year-old takes a pay cut. (Talksport)

Borussia Dortmund’s hopes of hanging on to defender Nico Schlotterbeck are diminishing amid interest from Bayern Munich and Liverpool, with the 25-year-old Germany international unhappy with his club’s style of play. (Bild Plus via Get German Football News)

A number of Premier League clubs are interested in bringing England and Al-Ahli striker Ivan Toney, 29, back to the English top flight but wages could prove a significant obstacle. (Sky Sports)

Tottenham are among the clubs interested in former Brentford striker Toney but are testing the market as they draw up plans to sign a new attacking player in January. (Teamtalk)

Manchester United want to sign a midfielder in January and have identified six possible options including three Englishmen in Atletico Madrid’s Conor Gallagher, 25, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, 21, and Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, 23. (Fichajes – in Spanish)

Fulham are set to offer manager Marco Silva a new contract despite a difficult start to the season at Craven Cottage. (The I – subscription required)

Everton want to sign a new striker in the January transfer window, with Dutch Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, high on their list of possible targets. (Sky Sports)

West Ham and Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug, 32, has been given permission to leave the club in the January transfer window. (GiveMeSport)

Chelsea are considering handing Ecuador midfielder Moises Caicedo, 24, a new contract as reward for his exceptional performances this season. (Sky Sports)

Three-time world champion Michael van Gerwen beat Gary Anderson to progress to the knockout stages of the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton.

In the final round of group matches, both players knew only a win would see them through to the second round, which begins on Wednesday.

Dutchman Van Gerwen averaged 108.5 to win 5-2 in a superb display, while defeat for Anderson meant he finished bottom of Group G, suffering an early exit from the tournament.

Beau Greaves earned her first win of the competition, coming from three legs down to beat Niko Springer 5-3, but missed out on the knockout stages as the German progressed.

Meanwhile, defending champion Littler’s place in the second round was already sealed, but the 18-year-old continued his 100% record with a 5-1 victory over Daryl Gurney.

The teenager’s solid performance secured top spot in Group E and the world champion will face Wessel Nijman in the next round on Thursday.

Dutch player Nijman needed a convincing win against already-eliminated Lisa Ashton to progress from Group F and did not drop a leg in a one-sided performance.

Jonny Clayton 5-4 Danny Noppert

Niko Springer 3-5 Beau Greaves

Luke Littler 5-1 Daryl Gurney

Lukas Wenig 5-1 Cam Crabtree

Connor Scutt 5-3 Karel Sedlacek

Michael van Gerwen 5-2 Gary Anderson

Wessel Nijman 5-0 Lisa Ashton

China’s Zhao Xintong booked his place in the semi-finals of the Champion of Champions tournament with a 6-5 win over Kyren Wilson in a thrilling match which went down to a black-ball decider.

Zhao had been 3-1 up but the Englishman roared back by winning the next four frames including breaks of 104 and 120.

World champion Zhao then won the next two frames – compiling his first century break – to square a topsy-turvy match at 5-5.

A break of 58 gave Zhao the upper hand in the deciding frame at Leicester’s Mattioli Arena, but a run of 54 by Wilson ensured whoever potted the black would win.

“When I was 3-1 up I missed a few shots and he came out to go 5-3 and I was just thinking I don’t him to win so easy,” he told ITV.

“I was a little lucky in the last two frames and got away with a couple of misses.”

Zhao will now face world number Judd Trump in the last four of the 16-player invitational tournament, which is a non-ranking event.

The 28-year-old had earlier breezed through his opening match with a 4-0 win over Mark Allen.

Northern Ireland’s Allen won just a solitary point in four frames as Zhao made breaks of 60, 78 and 76 en route to victory.

Wilson had progressed after a 4-3 win over fellow Englishman Jack Lisowski in a close encounter.