Taylor Fritz started off his ATP Finals campaign in devastating fashion on Monday, defeating Italian star Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets.
Musetti, who qualified for the Finals after Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal, appeared beleaguered during the match as he fell to a 3-6, 4-6 defeat against the American.
Fritz, meanwhile, will take great confidence from his excellent performance, and he will hope to replicate the high level of play he showed against Musetti when he contests his second round robin match against Carlos Alcaraz.
The American, the finalist in Turin 12 months ago, will hope to go one step further in 2025.
Taylor Fritz says he is ‘looking to have a good result here’ after previous ATP Finals success
Speaking to the Tennis Channel after defeating Musetti, Fritz – who will be hoping to challenge Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in Turin – described the adjustment he made to defeat the Italian.
He said: “I don’t know if it’s strategic. I think it’s just the things that, I want to do against him work on a fast court, and I think that the things I want to do against him on a slow court, they’re tough to do.
“Obviously he did get me the one time at Wimbledon, but I feel like with the grass, that almost helped him a bit too, me always not being able to put the ball away. I feel like this court’s fast. When he chipped, I was able to feel like I didn’t have to red line off of his chips to hurt him and stay aggressive.
“So I think the court speed be definitely played a big part of me being able to just rush him and be offensive.”
The American then discussed how he managed the high-pressure moments during the contest against Musetti, referring specifically to when he was 0-30 down during the final game of the match.
From 0-30, Fritz rattled off four consecutive points to win the match.
“I mean, I wouldn’t say it was that cool I collected,” Fritz said.
“I missed two balls that I really shouldn’t miss to go to 0-30, so I kind of just told myself, ‘whoa, I’m kind of choking it from the back, so I need to get some free points on my serve.’
“So luckily, I hit four good serves.”
Fritz, who served 13 aces and engineered 12 break-point opportunities on the Musetti serve, also discussed his expectations for the rest of the tournament.
He said: “I mean, I’m always just trying to play well. I think I’ve always played well here in the past, so I’m looking to have a good result here. It’s kind of one of those things you play well certain places, so you expect some solid results.
“So, I mean, winning this match is massive in terms of my hope for making out of the group. So that’s obviously the first thing I’m trying to do, and we’ll go from there.”
What did Taylor Fritz say after the 2024 ATP Finals?
Taylor Fritz came oh so close to winning his first ATP Finals title in 2024. However, unfortunately for fans of the American, he was defeated by then world number one Jannik Sinner in the final.
Sinner, who is attempting to usurp Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the rankings at the 2025 event, defeated Fritz 6-4, 6-4. Sinner had also defeated the American 6-4, 6-4 during the round robin stage.
The Italian was simply phenomenal against the American in the final, as he often is when playing on indoor hard courts: Sinner has a 10-0 record on the surface in 2025.
However, Fritz certainly did not go down without a fight in the 2024 final, and he rejected the notion of feeling ‘a bit dejected’ by some of Jannik’s play during the final.
Responding to a journalist in his 2024 ATP Finals post-match press conference, Fritz said: “Not in this match. I mean, it was a little frustrating sometimes when, like I said, I had maybe small looks in return games, and he would hit another ace on the line. There’s not much you can do.
“I think in the first match, probably I had a fair amount of chances. Never really played any of the chances that well. Finally had a chance that I played really well. I hit that forehand line, came in behind it, and he had a great pass. That was probably the most frustrated I’ve been in the two matches.
“No, look, he’s the best player in the world. Not only is he the best player in the world, but he’s playing also very well, at a high level. I go into these matches expecting him to hit incredible shots. I can’t act like that. It’s not expected.
“When it happens, you just tell yourself there’s nothing you can really do. When I do get frustrated, I get it out in a second or two. I might complain for a second, but then I’m always right back the next point.”
