Taylor Fritz Comes Back to Beat Alex de Minaur in ATP Finals

Taylor Fritz defeated Alex de Minaur in three sets in the Group Stage of the ATP Finals.

Taylor Fritz defeated Alex de Minaur in three sets at the ATP Finals. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

While Jannik Sinner still has a role to play in his match later today, the ATP Finals Group Stage meeting between Taylor Fritz and Alex de Minaur was basically win or go home.

Both players entered today's match with a record of 1-1 and dreams of advancing to the semifinals. In a hotly contested match, Fritz emerged victorious over de Minaur in three sets: 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.

Exquisite Tayloring 🕴️

Fritz defeats De Minaur 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 in his final Group Stage match.

He awaits Medvedev vs Sinner to determine if he advances. 👀#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/2s3RvjiPmW

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 14, 2024

At the outset, de Minaur took a narrow lead in the first set, which lasted 47 minutes. The seven-seed needed to win in straight sets if he were to advance to the semifinals.

It looked probable when de Minaur took a 4-3 lead in the second set, but eventually lost the set and his chances to advancing when the match went to a decider. With the oxygen let out of the room, Fritz closed strong to take the third set and match.

Struggling with all this math? 😅😵‍💫

Here are the updated scenarios to reach the Semifinals 👇#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/3neiYr4qFT

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 14, 2024

When asked if mental perseverance was the biggest factor in his win, Fritz said, "Yeah, I think a big thing was finding my serve at the end of the second. Just allowed me to not feel so much pressure every service game, you know. Because from the ground, he was all over me. He was playing great. It just felt like what he had to do to win a point was so much easier than what I had to do to win a point."

Fritz confided, "It was an incredibly frustrating match when I'm losing so many baseline rallies where I feel like I just can't do anything different. It was very frustrating, so it was very mental. I did have to mentally persevere a lot to get through it."

Keeping his head held high 😌👏@Taylor_Fritz97 is proud of his efforts this week regardless if he advances.#NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/hZY0P4lwjd

— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 14, 2024

Fritz improves to 2-1 in the Group Stage, and de Minaur exits with a record of 1-2. Fritz needs Sinner to win at least one set against Daniil Medvedev later today in order to clinch a spot in the semifinals.

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