Taylor Fritz kicked off this year’s Nitto ATP Finals singles tournament with a straight-sets win over an angry Daniil Medvedev who was hit with a point penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.
The American rallied to a 6-4, 6-3, win over the world No.4 to claim his fourth win over a top-five player this season. Fritz’s three previous victories have all been over Alexander Zverev. The latest victory hands him his 50th win of the season. In his latest match, he hit 21 winners and capitalized on Medvedev’s unforce error count of 22.
However, Fritz’s triumph was overshadowed by the behavior of his rival, who fell apart during two stages of their encounter and received multiple code violations. Medvedev hasn’t beaten a top 10 player since Wimbledon and recently lost his opening match at the Paris Masters.
“He’s such a good returner. You can make a lot of first serves, but if they’re not very high quality, then he just puts so many returns in the court. So (my serve) was huge for me.” Fritz said afterward.
“I hit a lot of lines, a lot of spots to start our games.
“I got out a lot of service games, just no pressure.
“And then some of the ones we got tied in, I was able to either grind through some long rallies or just get myself some free points on the serve.”
In their second Tour-level meeting, there was little to separate the two early on with no break points occurring during the first nine games. Fritz tried to pile the pressure onto Medvedev who managed to get himself out of trouble with some nifty shots. However, the Russian imploded at the worst possible moment. Serving down 4-5, he hit three consecutive double faults to hand Fritz the opening set after 45 minutes of play.
Medvedev, who won only four out of 16 points behind his second serve during the opener, smashed his racket on the ground out of sheer frustration during the change of ends. As a result, he was hit with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct.
As for Fritz, he continued to hold firm on the court despite a slight lull in his form early on in the second frame. In two consecutive service games, the American had to save break points to remain in front. He then broke for a 4-2 lead after prevailing in a 21-shot rally before hitting a winning lob. Prompting yet another Medvedev meltdown.
The former US Open champion was hit with a point penalty for throwing his racket and then deliberately hitting an on-court microphone. Shortly after the incident, he threatened to retire. From that moment on, Medvedev was mentally gone as Fritz surged to victory in a match marred by the behavior of his opponent.
“It’s very easy sometimes when someone’s doing that to kind of relax and think that they’re just going to be done, and then you kind of drop your level,” Fritz commented on Medvedev’s behavior.
“I just had to try to tell myself to stay focused. I played a really good five-three game because he was going to he was going to fight for that game.
“Luckily, I then served a great game (to win).”
Fritz, 27, is making his second appearance in the ATP Finals. However, this season is the first time he has entered the draw directly instead of being an alternate. In his first appearance back in 2022, he reached the semi-finals before losing to Novak Djokovic.
“I really want to make it out of the group stage.” He said.
“I’m putting more expectation on myself to do better. I think I’m just a better player.
“I’m super happy with how I played today.”
Fritz will play top seed Sinner and Alex de Minaur later in the week.
