It was reasonable to expect much more from Taylor Fritz in this edition of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, considering that he had been a finalist at the Inalpi Arena in the last edition (when he was defeated by Jannik Sinner who lifted the trophy in front of his home fans) and had expressed excellent tennis in his first two matches.
The world number 6 had been the protagonist of an excellent debut in this tournament by clearly beating the Italian star Lorenzo Musetti, who had arrived in Turin at the last moment after learning of Novak Djokovic's forfeit (the Serbian legend made a final decision regarding his participation only after the Athens ATP 250 final).
Fritz faced current world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz in the second match of his group and put in an outstanding performance in the first two sets, putting his illustrious opponent in serious trouble and coming very close to winning. However, the 22-year-old Spaniard reacted like a true champion and prevailed in the third set after a battle that lasted almost three hours in front of an enthusiastic crowd.
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Fritz disappointed
The 2024 US Open finalist needed to beat Alex de Minaur in the first clash of today's schedule, but he looked exhausted and was defeated by the Australian ace without even too much effort. This unexpected loss condemned the number 6 seed to a premature elimination that almost no one expected.
In his press conference, Taylor did not hide his huge disappointment: "I think I have expressed a very high level of tennis in the first two matches of this edition, but I am very disappointed with my performance today against Alex. I'm not happy at all with what I did today and I feel really sad right now."
In general, the 2025 season of the American star has been characterized by too many ups and downs also due to some injuries. Most experts and insiders expected his definitive consecration after the improvements made in the latter part of 2024.
