'sincaraz' Heads For Fitting Final Chapter Of 2025

The conflict is astir to recommence.

Carlos Alcaraz emphasised it by utilizing 2 emojis - a number 1 and a beard conflict - successful an Instagram station of him posing pinch Jannik Sinner aft their pre-ATP Finals believe connected Friday.

Whether Alcaraz aliases Sinner will decorativeness arsenic nan year-end world number 1 is simply a cardinal constituent of liking astatine this week's season-ending arena successful Turin.

Ending a agelong and gruelling play arsenic nan champion subordinate connected nan circuit is simply a prestigious accolade, rewarding their brilliance and consistency complete nan erstwhile 12 months.

Sinner retaining nan title would beryllium moreover much singular fixed nan 24-year-old Italian did not play for 3 months, having been banned for failing 2 doping tests.

Spain's Alcaraz yet usurped his rival astatine nan apical of nan rankings successful September, ending Sinner's 65-week stint by winning nan last Grand Slam of 2025 successful New York.

Now nan clear two-horse title goes to nan past arena of nan season, pinch 22-year-old Alcaraz looking nan favourite to triumph their duel.

"If Carlos plays really good location is nary chance, it doesn't matter what my consequence is," said Sinner.

BBC Sport analyses nan permutations for each subordinate and who could perchance extremity them. At nan bottommost of nan page, you tin ballot for who you deliberation will triumph successful Turin.

For nan 2nd play successful a row, 'Sincaraz' has been nan absorbing communicative of nan ATP Tour.

So it feels fitting nan pair's conflict for supremacy successful 2025 - for illustration each engrossing stories - will person a gripping last chapter.

Alcaraz goes into Turin successful rod position, holding a lead of 1,050 points complete Sinner.

This is what each has to do complete nan adjacent 8 days to decorativeness arsenic nan year-end number one:

Winning nan title without losing a round-robin lucifer earns 1,500 ranking points.

Players gain 200 points per round-robin lucifer victory, 400 points for a semi-final triumph and 500 points for lifting nan title.

"Ending arsenic nan number 1 has been an important extremity for maine since halfway done nan year," said Alcaraz, who antecedently claimed nan accolade successful 2022.

The brace person dominated nan men's crippled erstwhile again this year, sweeping each 4 Grand Slam titles betwixt them for a 2nd successive play and starring nan regular circuit by a sizeable margin.

Sinner defended nan Australian Open successful January - his last tourney earlier being sidelined - and was beaten by Alcaraz successful a classical French Open last connected his return to awesome action.

A period later, nan brace met again successful nan Wimbledon final, wherever Sinner demonstrated nan value of his intelligence spot to triumph and admirably bounce backmost from his Paris heartbreak.

The past stanza of their compelling Grand Slam trilogy took spot successful New York, pinch Alcaraz producing what he regarded arsenic 1 of nan finest performances of his profession to guarantee an moreover divided of nan 4 fields successful 2025.

With nan apical 2 seeds kept isolated successful Thursday's draw, Alcaraz was put into nan Jimmy Connors Group - wherever nan spectre of Novak Djokovic loomed large.

Seven-time champion Djokovic mightiness beryllium 38 and showing clear signs his powerfulness is waning, but he remains nan subordinate astir tin of beating Alcaraz and Sinner - and stands much chance complete 3 sets.

However, nan 24-time Grand Slam victor remains non-committal astir his attendance successful Turin and will not make a determination until aft he plays successful Saturday’s last astatine an ATP 250 arena successful Athens.

Djokovic is playing location because he has precocious moved to nan Greek superior and has beardown affectional ties to nan tournament, which was moved from Belgrade this twelvemonth and is tally by his younger relative Djordje.

The group is rounded retired by past year's runner-up Taylor Fritz, who has cemented his spot arsenic a starring prima this year, and nan ultra-consistent Alex de Minaur.

Novak Djokovic, 38, Serbia

Seed: 4

Best ATP Finals performance: Winner (2008, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2022, 2023)

2025 titles: 1

2025 win-loss: 35-11

Taylor Fritz, 28, United States

Seed: 6

Best ATP Finals performance: Runner-up (2024)

2025 titles: 2 (Stuttgart, Eastbourne)

2025 win-loss: 52-21

Alex de Minaur, 26, Australia

Seed: 7

Best ATP Finals performance: Group shape (2024)

2025 titles: 1 (Washington)

2025 win-loss: 55-21

In nan Bjorn Borg group, Sinner has a somewhat tougher tie successful position of nan seedings - although, for illustration Alcaraz, location is still an constituent of nan unknown.

German 3rd seed Alexander Zverev and American 5th seed Ben Shelton are locked in, but Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime and Italy's Lorenzo Musetti proceed to conflict for nan eighth and last spot.

Auger-Aliassime, who made a precocious surge into nan apical 8 by reaching nan Paris last past month, has already arrived successful Turin but knows his destiny is retired of his hands.

If Musetti thumps Djokovic to triumph nan Athens title connected Saturday, it will beryllium nan 23-year-old who makes his Finals debut.

There is simply a script wherever some Auger-Aliassime and Musetti could still extremity up playing, though, because whoever is first alternate will measurement successful if Djokovic pulls out.

Alexander Zverev, 28, Germany

Seed: 3

Best ATP Finals performance: Champion (2018, 2021)

2025 titles: 1 (Munich)

2025 win-loss: 54-23

Ben Shelton, 23, United States

Seed: 5

Best ATP Finals performance: Debut

2025 titles: 1 (Canada)

2025 win-loss: 40-21

Felix Auger-Aliassime, 25, Canada

Seed: 8

Best ATP Finals performance: Group shape (2022)

2025 titles: 3

2025 win-loss: 48-22

Lorenzo Musetti, 23, Italy

Seed: 8

Best ATP Finals performance: Debut

2025 titles: 0

2025 win-loss: 41-19