Summary
Somehow, Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Taylor Fritz to win an absolute epic 6-7 (2), 7-5, 6-3.
Fritz may never have played better than he did this afternoon, his aggressive intentions clear from the outset as the first four games took 29 minutes. It was Alcaraz who broke first but Fritz soon struck back and dominated the eventual first-set tiebreaker.
The second offered more of the same: brilliant tennis, Fritz the better player. But at the crucial moment he wilted, physically and mentally, a loose service-game at 5-6 handing over the set.
And he never really recovered, his level dropping as Alcaraz’s increased; the decisive break came early, and there was never any sense it would be relinquished.
“It was pretty tight, I was struggling more than him in the first set,” Alcaraz said afterwards. “I wasn’t serving well, and I think he was pretty comfortable from the baseline, from everywhere.
“I was really relieved after the win because of everything I went through during the match. I wasn’t feeling the ball as well as I was in the first round, but I’m really happy that I found a way to come back.”
The Spaniard stayed on course for his first ATP Finals win, but his place in the last four was placed on hold after Lorenzo Musetti outlasted Alex de Minaur in a thriller, winning 7-5 , 3-6, 7-5 in just under three hours.
The world No 9 fought back from a break down in the decider, winning against De Minaur’s serve to level it up at 5-5 and doing so again at 6-5 up, sealing victory on his second match point.
In the doubles, top seeded Britons Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool ensured they will finish the year as the ATP’s top-ranked pair by bouncing back from their opening straight sets defeat to Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori with a 7-6 (9), 6-2 win over defending champions Kevin Krawietz and Tim Putz.
Updated
It’s amazing, really, that Alcaraz can be that far off his best, facing the world no 4 playing the match of his life, and still win – ultimately with a bit to spare. He just makes it so hard to win so many points against him that, when we got to the end, his opponent didn’t have enough left to maintain the level that took him there. It’ll take something special to beat him and, chances are, there’s only one man capable of producing it.
