ATP Finals: Taylor Fritz after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals
Taylor Fritz has reached the semifinals at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The American showed nerves of steel in the direct duel for promotion and defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in three hard-fought sets.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Nov 17, 2022, 11:57 pm
It is a rarity that a match involving Rafael Nadal is not played at prime time on a game day. A rarity that is solely due to the fact that the 22-time Grand Slam winner was already eliminated after the first two group games at the ATP Finals in Turin - and the duel with Casper Ruud on Thursday afternoon was meaningless. Taylor Fritz and Felix Auger-Aliassime, on the other hand - after one win and one loss each - fought head-to-head for a place in the last four at the season finale in Italy.
The game started, as usual for a duel of two service giants, with clear service games. Both Fritz and Auger-Aliassime allowed little to nothing. And always brought their own service games into dry cloths without any problems. The logical consequence: a tiebreak had to make the decision. In this case, it was probably Felix Auger-Aliassime's backhand that was ultimately to decide the game. With this, the Canadian made two unforced errors. Taylor Fritz, on the other hand, acted in an extremely stable manner and knew how to use his opponent's small wobbles coldly: Section one went 7:6 (4) to the American.
Fritz with Lucky Punch
Set two followed seamlessly from the events of round one: once again, clear service games shaped what was happening in Turin - impressive statistics: Taylor Fritz brought six of his previous ten service games without losing a point at a score of 7: 6 (4) and 4: 4 through. The American couldn't buy any of that a few minutes later. Because: Felix Auger-Aliassime did not give up after a 2: 4 deficit in the second tie-break of the evening - and after a rally worth seeing he managed to equalize the set at 5: 5.
Fritz was unimpressed by this, continued to remember his serve strength and waited for his chance. And this came when the score was 3:2. Fritz struck, made the decisive break and, a few minutes before midnight, secured the entry into the last four with 7: 6 (4), 6: 7 (5) and 6: 2. In the parallel group, Novak Djokovic is already the group winner - and thus the opponent of Taylor Fritz. The American's group, however, was able to win Casper Ruud - despite the final defeat against Rafael Nadal. Andrey Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas will fight in a direct duel tomorrow, Friday, for the last remaining ticket for the semi-finals of the Nitto ATP Finals.