Carlos Alcaraz showed up Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic by outdoing them all with his second year-end No. 1 ranking before his 23rd birthday.

The Spaniard secured his place ahead of Jannik Sinner after defeating Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-1 to book his spot in the semi-final of the ATP Finals after three straight wins.

Speaking after the victory, he said: “The match was really important for me, playing for year-end No 1. It means the world to me, to be honest. The year-end No 1 is always a goal. 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.

“It wasn’t easy at the beginning with the nerves. I tried to handle that pressure the best I could, so I am just really happy with the level I played and to be able to end the year as the No 1.

“This tournament is really important for me. I am excited about qualifying for the semi-finals and hopefully getting to the final. We will see – part of the job is done, but I’m excited to keep going.”