Casper Ruud takes down Fritz to secure ATP Finals semi-final

Ruud had another very good outing beating Taylor Fritz in an exciting 3-set match 6-3 4-6 7-6(2) to secure a spot in the semi-finals.

Ruud has now two wins in the group stage but unlike the first one, this one came in three sets. The Norwegian was pretty solid once again which is somewhat surprising as he generally likes slower indoor courts by his own admission.

He navigated two very tricky players and the key for this one was the serve. He served better than Fritz and the first set and that was a problem for the American. He also risked more but was all kinds of off having more unforced errors than winners. Ruud posted 10 winners and 6 errors which was good enough for the 6-3 finish.

The script totally flipped in the second set as Fritz served much better this time around. He dropped only one point behind his first serve having 11 winners alongside 6 aces for the 6-4 finish. Ruud had 8 winners but 11 errors and that cost him the second set.

The final set was a pretty great one from both players. Ruud served far better than Fritz but the American was pretty strong hitting the ball and was able to wiggle out of two break points to force the tiebreak. Fritz ran out of luck a little bit dropping his level to give Ruud a 5-1 lead. He bounced back to make it 6-6 but Ruud still won 8-6.