Debut to forget for Lorenzo Musetti as Taylor Fritz opens ATP Finals account in Turin

Taylor Fritz gave Lorenzo Musetti a bit of a rude awakening on his debut at the ATP Finals delivering an emphatic win on Monday afternoon which silenced the crowd in Turin. He sealed it 6-3, 6-4 but perhaps it is not a huge shock giving his pedigree in the event prior.

Fritz who dictated play from baseline in commanding fashion has previously reached the final this time last year and also the semi-finals on his debut back in 2022. The 28-year-old ended his season a few weeks ago in comparison to his opponent who had to play until Sunday.

But in reality it was a decision that only Felix Auger-Aliassime got right. He didn't play on purpose handing all the pressure to Musetti and both got in anyway with Musetti taking the spot of Novak Djokovic ironically who he lost to in the final which would've seen him take his spot by right. Elena Rybakina played a similar card prior to the WTA Finals of playing the week before but only needed a late run so withdrew before it got too much and went on to win it but in reality Musetti unlike the rest of the field who took in press conference and photo shoots couldn't be less prepared for a debut.

Fritz looked more comfortable from early doors, he took the ball early and redirected it to his pace. He pushed Musetti onto the back foot and the Italian was left scrambling and spent most of the match on the backfoot unable to do much to rattle the cage of the American. He gained a crucial break after storming through the opening set at 1-1 when Musetti hit two consecutive double faults from 40-30 before he pushed a backhand wide on break point. Fritz held his nerve serving it out at 5-4 coming from behind to do so to win in an hour and 43 minutes.

He will now meet Carlos Alcaraz and De Minaur in Turin. The former is next as he won his opener. Alcaraz now faces Fritz and also Musetti as he aims to rubber stamp his latter stage spot. Musetti gets more bites of the cherry but he ends a best season his career with an early loss in his tilt to the finals. He reached finals of Monte-Carlo, Chengdu and Athens and of course is revered given its his home nation alongside Jannik Sinner. Albeit Sinner of course is the favourite for the title so the pressure tilts less to Musetti's racquet.

“I am really happy. I thought I did a lot of things really well,” Fritz said. “I did a great job early on in the match to serve my way out of trouble and save some break points. The whole second set I played well and had a lot of chances to break that I didn’t get. I am really happy I was able to serve it out there and it didn’t come back to ruin it.”

“Every time I come here, I like the conditions and it is very easy to get motivated,” Fritz added. “You can lock in, it is the last tournament of the year and it is the ATP Finals, it is a big deal.”