ATP Finals 2024: Terrific Taylor Fritz edges deciding set tie-break to reach maiden final in Turin

Taylor Fritz is the first part of Sunday's championship match at the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin and could yet face Jannik Sinner in another rematch of their US Open final. He defeated the in-form Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 in the semi-finals in a tie-break to move through.

Zverev was seen as the most likely to reach the final due to his recent form which has seen him clinch the trophy in Paris and perform out of his skin especially considering he has had pneumonia and lung issues.

But Fritz has relished his return to the ATP Finals and not being an injured alternate like last year. He qualified for the second time in three years and he lost in the semi-finals two years ago to Novak Djokovic. This after seeing off Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the group stage.

But this time around, it has been near perfect as he becomes the first player to reach the finals from America since 2006. In what has been a superb year for Fritz, he will look to emulate Pete Sampras who was the last winner in 1999. He also moves up to World No.4 in the Live Rankings and could be a top four seed at the Australian Open.

It was a high class display from Fritz who hit 32 winners and became the first player to break Zverev's serve this week so certainly not an easy feat to say the least. He claimed the win in two-hours and 20 minutes and has now won his past four matches against Zverev. He leads their Head to Head 7-5.

After two pretty dominant sets on each side of the court, it was the final set that provided the thrilling drama. Fritz saved break points at 3-2 up to head into the lead and he continued to build towards the finishing line albeit both had break point chances that they spurned.

Especially Fritz at 3-4 which could've seen him go one away. He missed three and gave Zverev the chance to stick around. But the tie-break saw Fritz surge into a 4-1 lead and he broke twice en route to sealing it. Zverev took two points on his serve. But Fritz did the same and broke to win. A man for the big moment.

In facing either Sinner or Ruud on Sunday evening, he is into his fifth final of the season and could yet collect his biggest title of his career.