Tim Henman pinpoints the Taylor Fritz shot that is ‘very underrated’ after beating Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals

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Taylor Fritz produced a clinical display against Lorenzo Musetti on Monday, defeating the Italian in his opening ATP Finals match.

Fritz defeated 23-year-old Musetti 6-3, 6-4, and will hope to continue his good form when he plays Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.

The American, a finalist at the 2024 ATP Finals, recently surrendered his status as America’s number one player.

However, he will look to reclaim that title during his 2025 ATP Finals campaign, and he has already been aided by Shelton’s opening loss to Alexander Zverev.

The 28-year-old will take some stopping in Turin, especially if he continues to serve with such authority.

Tim Henman says Taylor Fritz’s serve is ‘very underrated’

Tim Henman, a former British number one, discussed Fritz’s performance against Musetti during Sky Sports’ coverage.

The former world number four praised Taylor Fritz’s serving against Musetti, noting the shot’s impressive speed.

“If you are going to talk about the most important shot in men’s tennis it probably is the serve and I think Fritz’s serve is very underrated,” Henman began.

“We don’t necessarily talk about him as one of the biggest servers, but it’s certainly a big weapon. And when you do hold serve comfortably and consistently, it does free you up in other aspects of your game, because you feel you are going to hold serve.

“When you are vulnerable, it puts pressure on other areas of your game and you feel you have to back it up with other parts of your game.

“But Fritz is hitting his spots extremely well. The speed was extremely impressive. It was up at 217/218kmph. That’s very difficult to play against.

“Even in that last game, it was 0-30, and he served a couple of aces and was able to finish the job off.”

Should Carlos Alcaraz be worried?

Taylor Fritz was dominant on serve against Lorenzo Musetti, giving the Italian little room for manoeuvre.

As per Sofascore, Fritz served 13 aces and won 84 per cent of his first serve points. Remarkably, the American also won 65 per cent of his second serve points.

Moreover, Fritz did not serve a single double fault and saved all four of Musetti’s break-point opportunities.

One must wonder if Carlos Alcaraz should be concerned by Fritz’s level heading into their clash on Tuesday.

The American played at a scintillating level on Monday, and if he can replicate that level against the world number one, tennis fans could be in for a shock.

It’s also worth remembering that Fritz has a recent history of defeating Alcaraz – specifically at the Laver Cup.

The American snapped a three-match losing streak against Musetti and will hope to avenge his Japan Open final loss to Alcaraz in his next ATP Finals match.