Carlos Alcaraz's ATP Finals opponent has secret weapon that could spark huge upset

Carlos Alcaraz will face Lorenzo Musetti in his final round-robin match at this year's ATP Finals. The top seed has a 6-1 record against Musetti, with his sole loss coming back in 2022. But it won't be easy for Alcaraz when they meet on Thursday, as the No. 9 seed in Turin has something special to rely on.

Musetti is one of two Italians in the singles draw at this year's season-ending championships, along with Jannik Sinner. He's been drawing on the overwhelming crowd support inside the Inalpi Arena and turned things around against Alex de Minaur on Tuesday. Now, he's hoping the fans can help him cause a big upset against Alcaraz.

The world No. 9 made his ATP Finals debut this week, getting into the exclusive field when Novak Djokovic withdrew on the eve of the tournament. Musetti suffered a one-sided defeat to Taylor Fritz in his opening match and was understandably tired, having lost a three-set final in Athens a couple of days earlier.

But the 23-year-old pulled off an epic escape when he faced De Minaur in his second group stage match, coming from 3-5 down in the decider to seal a 7-5 3-6 7-5 victory. Musetti looked down and out after dropping the second set but he fed off the home crowd support, leaping into the air after winning and going to embrace his team.

Now, the ATP Finals debutant is hoping that the fans can help him produce another "miracle" when he faces No. 1 seed Alcaraz, who has already won his first two group matches this week.

"[The win over De Minaur] gives me a lot of confidence in the work I'm doing, and it's definitely good news that I'm competing to qualify for the semi-finals," Musetti said after pulling off a comeback.

"A lot of it will depend on my performance against Carlos. It's the toughest match of the group, I know him very well because we've faced each other several times this year on all surfaces. But I'm sure I'm favoured in one thing, and that's the crowd. Let's hope they can help me perform a miracle."

Musetti has already achieved plenty of milestones in his career, winning a title, breaking the top-10, and going deep at the Majors. But the Italian said his victory over De Minaur was one of the most meaningful.

He added: "It will certainly enter a special place in my heart because it is my first victory at the Finals and also for how it happened. It was a difficult match in which I had to push myself to the limit physically."

All four men in the Jimmy Connors Group - Alcaraz, Musetti, Fritz and De Minaur - still have a chance of making it to the semi-finals, depending on Thursday's results. Alcaraz also has something extra to play for as he's one win away from securing the year-end No. 1 ranking.