👋 Welcome back to The Daily Theory, our morning rundown to help you stay on top of your favorite sport. I’m Allen McDuffee, your guide to all things tennis.

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Today’s tennis mood rating: Anticipation + 🥹

Let’s tennis!

Four Points

🎾 Day six: Today is the sixth day of the ATP Tour Finals in Turin, and the final day of round-robin action. In singles, no matter what happens, Jannik Sinner has won the group. Now it just comes down to who gets the second semifinal spot: Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alexander Zverev? The ATP has helpfully put together all of the qualifying scenarios. Here’s the full line-up of two singles matches and two doubles matches on tap today.

Turin - ATP Tour Finals (Hard)

  • Jannik Sinner vs. Ben Shelton (Round Robin)
  • Alexander Zverev vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (Round Robin)
  • Heliovaara/Patten vs. Arevalo-Gonzalez/Pavic (Round Robin)
  • Salisbury/Skupski vs. Harrison/King (Round Robin)

Learn how to watch today’s action over at Tennis Watchers.

🎾 Carlos claims number one: Carlos Alcaraz clinched the year-end ATP No.1 spot after defeating Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.

  • What he said: “It means the world to me, to be honest. The year-end No. 1 is always a goal,” Alcaraz said. “At the beginning of the year, I saw the No. 1 really, really far away [with] Jannik winning almost every tournament he plays. But from the middle of the season ’til now, I [gave myself] the goal for the No. 1 because I thought it was there. I had the chance to play great tennis in a lot of tournaments in a row to put myself in with a chance to be close to Jannik for the No. 1...Then, in the last three, four tournaments of the year, [I was] fighting toe to toe with Jannik for this spot, and then finally I got it. For me, it means everything.”

🎾 Quite the turnaround: Just two days ago, in The Daily Theory, we talked about Alex de Minaur and the rough spot he was in after letting another clear path to victory slip through his fingers against Lorenzo Musetti. On Thursday, down 0-2 in the group stage, he went out against Taylor Fritz and got right back to work, taking the world number six down, 7-6, 6-3. It was a win that not only renewed faith in himself, but also qualified him for the semifinals.

  • What he said: “Couple of days ago was one of the toughest days I’ve had in my career. I was in a very, very dark spot,” said de Minaur. “I could tell you that I hated the sport. Now here we are two days later, and I’m feeling great about myself. It’s incredible.” He added: “So more than anything, I feel proud of my efforts, not for just coming out and winning, but also just for the mindset. I kind of make peace with it, and I just committed to my game from the first point to the last.”
  • Next: Alex de Minaur will play in the semifinals on Saturday, opponent to be determined.

🎾 Musetti’s out: After playing a great first set against Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday — but ultimately losing — Lorenzo Musetti is out of the ATP Tour Finals. But he also made the decision not to play for Italy in the Davis Cup Finals, as well. “Given my physical condition and my family situation, in agreement with captain Filippo Volandri, I have decided not to participate in the Davis Cup finals in Bologna,” said Musetti, noting his partner who is about to have their second child. With Jannik Sinner announcing earlier that he would not play in the Davis Cup Finals earlier in the season, Musetti’s withdrawal means Italy will be without its top two singles players.