Taylor Fritz beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-4 in 1 hour and 42 minutes to win his opening match of the Jimmy Connors Group at the Nitto ATP Finals at the Nitto ATP Finals in a packed Inalpi Arena in Turin.
Fritz dropped just three points on serve in the second set, including two points in the final game, and won 84% of his first serve points. Musetti saved ten break points, but he dropped serve twice.
Musetti earned four break points in the third game of the first set, but he was not able to convert them. Fritz broke serve in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead. Musetti did not convert three break points in the sixth game. Fritz won 79% of his first serve points in the opening set.
Musetti saved four break points to hold serve in a 11-minute first game of the second set. Fritz rallied from 15-40 down to earn a break in the third game for 2-1.
Musetti made two double faults in the final game at 3-6 3-5. He saved a match point to hold serve for 4-5 in the ninth game. The world number 9 player went up 30-0 on Fritz’s serve in the 10th game, but Fritz won four consecutive points to seal the win on the second match point.
Fritz owns a win-loss record of 52-21 this year and won two titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne on grass.
Fritz has drawn level to 3-3 in his head-to-head matches against Musetti.
Fritz finished runner-up in last year’s championships match at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.
“Every time I come here, I like the conditions and it is very easy to get motivated. You can lock in, it is the last tournament of the year, and it is the ATP Finals, it is a big deal. I did a great job early on in the match to serve my way out of trouble and save some break points. The whole second set I played well and had a lot of chances to break that I didn’t get. I am really happy I was able to serve it out there, and it didn’t come back to ruin it”, said Fritz.
Musetti qualified for the ATP Finals after Novak Djokovic pulled out of the ATP Finals shortly after beating the Italian player in the Athens ATP 250 tournament.
Fritz will not have a lot of time to rest, as he will back on court on Tuesday to play against Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Alex De Minaur in his opening match on Sunday. Musetti will take on De Minaur tomorrow.
