Taylor Fritz is playing today in the final of the ATP Finals in Turin 2024 for the biggest title of his career. Against the industry leader Jannik Sinner However, Fritz is clearly an outsider.
by Jens Huiber
last edited: November 17, 2024, 11:34 a.m
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Taylor Fritz in Turin these days
After his last group game on Thursday, Taylor Fritz was in an almost fatalistic mood. He won two games and only lost against the number one in the world. If that’s not enough for the semi-finals, he has nothing to blame himself for. At that point it was not yet clear that Fritz would actually make it to the last four; Jannik Sinner still had to win a set against Daniil Medvedev.
Three days later, Fritz now has the chance to win the biggest title of his career. Almost exactly 25 years after Pete Sampras, who won against Andre Agassi in three sets in Hanover in 1999 (at that time the final was still played in best-of-five mode). After that, there wasn’t much left for the Americans at the big end of the season: in 2006, James Blake made it to the final again in Shanghai, but lost there against Roger Federer.
Fritz loses against Sinner on Tuesday
Back then he was the favorite by about the same margin as Jannik Sinner will be today. Especially since there was already a comparison with Fritz in Turin 2024, which Sinner won on Tuesday evening with a score of 6:4 and 6.4. The game was a little tighter, but in the crucial phases local hero Sinner was simply ahead. Like in the final of the US Open.
This defeat certainly hurt Fritz more than another one would tonight. Nevertheless, he will finish the year in fourth place in the world rankings, by far the best position Taylor Fritz has held at the end of a season. He won two titles this year, in Delray Beach and Eastbourne – that’s not the top shelf. On the other hand, Daniil Medvedev, whom Fritz overtook in his final spurt in Turin, was not able to claim victory once in 2024. For Fritz, the championship in Indian Wells two years ago is still a big highlight in his career.
The Davis Cup awaits next week
The run at the ATP Finals comes as a bit of a surprise, perhaps even for Taylor Fritz himself. Before the possible semi-final against Alexander Zverev, he didn’t sound exactly optimistic – despite the good record against the German. “I should have lost at Wimbledon and could have lost at the US Open,” he also said on Thursday, when it was not yet clear that he would have to play against Zverev. Now it’s a win again, dramatically in the tiebreak of the third set. But at least that was in the afternoon game, final opponent Sinner still had to play in the evening.
For both finalists, today’s final will not be the last match of the season: next week both Taylor Fritz and Jannik Sinner will be at the final round of the Davis Cup in Málaga.
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