Taylor Fritz is the best American men's player since Andy Roddick, and while he is quite good, he isn't in relative terms to the best of the rest of the world. He'll win some tournaments and make deep runs in majors, but, just like everyone else, he isn't and will never be Jannik Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz.
Still, he hung in his round-robin match against Alcaraz, the top-ranked player on the ATP tour, taking the first set. The American was even broken at 1-all, but came back to get his own break. Again, he is a very good player, but defeating Alcaraz, something Fritz hasn't done except at the Laver Cup, takes a high level of play over an entire match, but he was great in the opening set.
Jannik Sinner might have liked it if Fritz had earned the victory. The Italian, who finished as the year-end No. 1 in 2024 but is currently ranked No. 2, needs the Spaniard to drop at least one of his round-robin matches and then not reach the final of the ATP Finals. If that happens and Sinner wins all five of his matches, the Italian can finish No. 1 again.
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Taylor Fritz in the round-robin stage of the ATP Finals
Alcaraz had already earned one victory in the round-robin, with a victory over Alex de Minaur. After outlasting Fritz 6-7(2) ..., he only needs to beat Lorenzo Musetti to go unbeaten and claim his year-end ranking.
Still, Taylor Fritz didn't make it easy. In set one, he fought Alcaraz on the Spaniard's serve, often putting pressure on the server and forcing Alcaraz to hit incredible and powerful shots. Unfortunately, that is something the Spaniard does consistently and easily, at least compared to nearly anyone else who has ever picked up a racket.
Fritz dominated the tie-break, getting an early mini-break and then serving two aces to finish it off. He was playing brilliantly, and Alcaraz was just a tick below his normal form.
The second set was again played evenly, with each player holding. Fritz was seemingly having an easier time doing so, and Alcaraz had to fight off a break chance by the American in an epic 14-minute service game. Fritz could not hold serving at 6-5, though, and the Spaniard stole the set.
In set three, Alcaraz got a break of a seemingly tiring Fritz to jump to a 4-2 lead, and the Spaniard simply needed to hold to make it two wins in a row at the year-end tournament. He almost got another break of Fritz, but instead served out the third set 6-3.
Even in the loss, Fritz is guaranteed to finish in the top 10 for the fourth straight year. No American man has done that since Roddick did it for nine straight years between 2002 and 2010. He might not win the ATP Finals, though he still has a chance even with losing to Alcaraz, but he has a lot to be proud of.
Likely, tennis fans know the inevitable, though. The final of the tournament will most likely be Carlos Alcaraz versus Jannik Sinner, just as every tournament the two appear in seems to finish.