US Open finalist Taylor Fritz took the first step towards the hoped-for semi-finals at the $15.25 million ATP Finals in Turin on Sunday. The American won the first singles of the season finale of the eight best players 6:4, 6:3 against former world number one Daniil Medvedev from Russia.
Medvedev was extremely frustrated at times in the first game of the “Ilie Nastase” group. In the first set he made a series of double faults at an inopportune time. Three double faults on their own serve and with the score at 4:5 led to the loss of the set.
Medvedev provokes
Medvedev then suffered a point deduction in the middle of the second round. The world number four was annoyed by a lucky, successful lob from Fritz, threw his racket and was warned a second time. Medvedev had to accept the break to make it 2:4. Fritz was allowed to start the next game at 15:0. The game was thus decided.
The best two of the two groups of four reach the semi-finals of the year-end tournament. World number one and last year’s finalist Jannik Sinner and ATP Finals debutant Alex de Minaur from Australia are Medvedev and Fritz’s other preliminary round opponents. Sinner and de Minaur will play against each other from 8.30 p.m.
On Tuesday against Fritz?
The two winners from Sunday will meet on the second preliminary round match day on Tuesday. If Sinner wins, Taylor Fritz would be his opponent on Tuesday and Daniil Medvedev on Thursday.
The “John Newcombe” group starts on Monday with the games of Carlos Alcaraz (ESP-3) against Casper Ruud (NOR-6) and Alexander Zverev (GER-2) against Andrej Rublew (RUS-8).
Of the eight best in the ATP rankings, Novak Djokovic (5th) had to miss out injured, meaning that for the first time in 23 years none of the “Big Three”, including Djokovic, the already retired Roger Federer and almost “retired” Rafael Nadal, were at the ATP Finals is there.
