Despite being the last player to find out that they have secured a place in this year’s ATP Finals, Taylor Fritz is making the most of his opportunity after sealing his place in the semi-finals on his debut.
The world No.9 booked his spot in the last four after beating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-2, in a marathon encounter that took place at the Pala Alpitour on Thursday evening. Fritz is the first American man to progress beyond the group stages since Jack Sock in 2017 and has now won 45 matches this season.
“It is huge. From possibly not even qualifying to now be in the semis feels great,” said Fritz, who entered the tournament as a replacement for Carlos Alcaraz. “I felt like I was going to play well here. I feel that I always play my best tennis against the best players.”
In what was a close encounter with Auger-Aliassime, the first 17 games went by without a single break of serve before Friz managed to break through midway through the decider. With each player winning a tiebreaker, the American closed out the match with a four-game winning streak. Producing a total of 32 winners and five aces.
The run comes at the end of what has been a successful season for the 25-year-old who claimed his maiden Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells before winning two more ATP titles in Eastbourne and Tokyo. He also reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon before losing to Rafael Nadal in a five-set thriller. Nadal is the other player Fritz has beaten at this week’s ATP Finals.
Awaiting Fritz in the semi-finals will be Novak Djokovic who is seeking to win the title for a record-equalling sixth time in his career. Djokovic is yet to drop a set in the tournament after beating Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in his opening matches.
“It’s a great opportunity. I look forward to playing Novak. Obviously he’s one of the best if not the best. He’s done pretty well here in the past,” Fritz commented.
In their head-to-head, Fritz trails the Serbian 0-5 but they are yet to lock horns this year. In four of those matches, he hasn’t won a set against Djokovic but did push him the full distance when they met in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open.
Should Fritz upset Djokovic on Saturday, he will become the first American man to reach the ATP Finals title match since James Blake in 2006. The last American champion is Pete Sampras who lifted the title in 1999.
