Frances Tiafoe waited a long time to reach the ATP Finals. He will not ease into it.

The draw was held Thursday in Turin, Italy. Tiafoe, the No. 7 seed, will open against second seed Carlos Alcaraz on Monday.

It is the first trip to the season-ending event for Tiafoe, who is 28 and sits at a career-high No. 8 in the world.

The two groups

Alcaraz heads the Ivan Lendl Group with Tiafoe, Daniil Medvedev and home favorite Flavio Cobolli.

World No. 1 Alexander Zverev leads the John McEnroe Group with American Ben Shelton, Arthur Fils and Rafael Jodar.

Cobolli, Fils, Tiafoe and Jodar are all making their debuts. Jannik Sinner is missing the event with an injury. Taylor Fritz will be in Turin as the second alternate.

The top two from each group move on to the semifinals. Play runs Nov. 15 through Nov. 22.

When they play

Zverev opens the tournament against Jodar on Sunday, not before 7 a.m. Central. Shelton faces Fils that afternoon, not before 1:30 p.m. Central.

Tiafoe and Alcaraz meet Monday, not before 7 a.m. Central. Medvedev plays Cobolli that afternoon. Alcaraz leads Tiafoe 2-1 in their career meetings.

A tough opener

Alcaraz arrives on fire. He has won titles in Tokyo, Vienna and Paris since returning from injury. He reached the final in Turin last year but has never won the event.

Tiafoe needed help to get here. He lost early at the Paris Masters and then had to wait two days for other results to fall his way. He clinched his spot when his friend Shelton beat Tommy Paul in Paris.

"It's an emotional thing," Tiafoe said after qualifying. "The unseen hours, the silent claps, it makes it all worth it."

This year he won the biggest title of his career on grass in Halle and reached his third US Open semifinal.