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Taylor Fritz has been handed a lifeline to compete in the ATP Finals next week. Just to clarify, Fritz didn’t officially qualify on paper. However, due to the injury that Carlos Alcaraz sustained in the Paris Masters, it’s Fritz who swoops in and takes the 8th spot. Taylor Fritz was the 9th player in the Race to Turin rankings. And because of this, he was what’s commonly known as the ‘first reserve’. Normally, the first reserve would still travel to the End of Year Masters anyway in case of an ‘in tournament’ injury.
But now, Fritz will travel to Italy with the knowledge that he is already in the draw. Adding to that, the draw for the ATP Finals will be made this coming Friday – November 10th. That’s when we will get to know which players are playing against each other in each of the two groups. Of course, the singles draw of 8 players is split down the middle with four players put into each group. And to be honest, the draw on Friday will be well worth tuning in for.
With that said, we are talking about Taylor Fritz here and his realistic chances at the End of Year Masters. So let me break it down for you right now.
What Can Taylor Fritz Do at the ATP Finals in Turin?
It’s been quite a season for Taylor Fritz, nobody can deny that. He managed to win his very first Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells earlier in the season, beating Rafael Nadal in the final. This alone was fantastic for the young American. But he has backed this up with some big results at the other Masters events – not to mention that he made the quarter-finals of Wimbledon too.
However, Fritz has experienced a rather quiet end to the 2022 season compared to his accomplishments earlier in the year. And because of that, here’s what I think he can do in Turin:
Group Stage Exit
At the time of writing, Taylor Fritz has a ranking of number 9 in the ATP standings. This is just one shy of his highest ranking ever, which was number 8 (achieved just a few weeks ago). So to be honest, this alone should give him confidence going into Turin. Yet his recent performances won’t exactly make him feel like he should be winning the tournament. Fritz had a shock loss to Gilles Simon in the Paris Masters, and prior to that he only made the round of 16 at the Vienna Open.
With that said, he did win the Japan Open on October 9th, beating guys like Shapovalov and Tiafoe in the process. This was only a month ago, so whether we could say that he is out of form is all a matter of personal opinion. But for me, the most important part of this assessment is that he will be playing the best in the business in Turin. It’s not like he can have a ropey match or two and hope to do well.
He needs to bring his A-game from day one, but personally, I can’t see him going through the group.
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