Taylor Fritz extended the best season of his career to the very last match of the ATP calendar as he toppled Alexander Zverev in a tense, quality tussle to reach the final stage of the ATP Finals for the first time. In a bruising battle between two of the best servers in the world that could only be decided by a final set tie-break, Fritz held on to narrowly defeat Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3).
Fritz now sits at No 4 in the ATP live world rankings, and only a title for Casper Ruud would stop him from rising to a new career high on Monday. Having reached his first grand slam final at the US Open, Fritz will compete for the biggest title of his career against either the world No 1 Jannik Sinner or Ruud. The 27-year-old is the first American to reach the final since James Blake in 2006.
While Fritz finished as runner-up in his round robin group behind an imperious Sinner, Zverev had won all three of his group matches, including a straight sets victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Friday, and he was yet to even lose his serve. Fritz, however, has been his nemesis this year; he has now defeated the German on four consecutive occasions, including in the fourth round of Wimbledon and the quarter-finals of the US Open. Fritz has completely overturned their head-to-head record in the process, which he now leads 7-5.
“A big thing is just I trust my game and I trust my level, and I don’t feel nearly as uncomfortable in these situations any more because I’ve been putting myself in these situations, playing the top guys at big events a lot lately, I’m getting more comfortable in the moment and I’m really confident in my game,” said Fritz.
As was the case in their other wins this year, Fritz was able to neutralise almost all of Zverev’s biggest strengths. He matched Zverev’s immense serving and unlike many other players on the tour, Fritz’s excellent backhand allows him to easily hold his weight in the cross-court backhand rallies, which Zverev often uses to break down opponents.
Deep in the third set Fritz continued to serve brilliantly and he locked down his game in the important moments, refusing to offer up any free unforced errors. Unlike Zverev, he also did not hesitate to attack with his forehand when the opportunity presented itself.
As Zverev appeared to be turning the match around, the American was defiant, recovering from 0-40 down on his serve at 2-2 in the third set. Zverev saved three break points himself at 3-4, but Fritz kept on going. In the tension-filled final set tie-break, it was the German who crumbled under pressure, his forehand spraying loose errors on key moments as Fritz closed out a brilliant win.
“I found myself in some tough spots in the third set,” said Fritz. “I felt like in the third, both of us started to get on each other’s serve even more. More balls were being put in play. At the end there, the balls were just huge and when I was trying to be aggressive, I didn’t feel like it was doing much. I just told myself at the end that I had to just fight, be solid, try to take care of my serve the best I can but just give him absolutely nothing from the back.”
For Zverev, this year ends as one of his best seasons. He finishes with two Masters 1000 titles, his second grand slam final at the French Open and at his career-high ranking of No 2. In the most important matches, though, he has been outclassed by his closest rivals.
