Taylor Fritz has made a strong start to the ATP Finals in Turin with a straight-sets victory over an angry racquet-smashing Daniil Medvedev.
The American, who reached the semi-finals on his debut two years ago, produced a level-headed display to claim a 6-4 6-3 victory in the tournament’s opening match on Sunday.
The same could not be said for Medvedev, who earned a warning for smashing his racquet after serving three straight double faults to end the opening set.
The Russian then lost his cool again after a mishit Fritz lob landed on the baseline to seal the crucial break for 4-2 in the second set, throwing his racquet and swiping at a microphone to earn a point penalty.
Soon afterwards, the match was over, with fifth seed Fritz determined to keep his focus no matter what was happening down the other end of the court.
“I definitely felt like at 5-3 he was going to reset and try as hard as he could to break me,” said the fifth seed Fritz.
“It’s very easy sometimes when someone’s doing that to relax and think they’re just going to be done.
“Then you drop your level. I just had to tell myself stay focused at 5-3, play a really good game because he was going to fight for that game. Luckily I served a great game.”
It was a big win for Fritz, who led 21-15 in winners and had 14 unforced errors to Medvedev’s 22.
In September at the US Open, Fritz became the first American man to reach a grand slam final in 15 years but he lost the championship match to world No.1 Jannik Sinner.
Later on Sunday, Sinner was set to play Australian debutant Alex de Minaur, who is making his debut at the finals, while Fritz will get a rematch with Sinner later in the week.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au