Who will Taylor Fritz face in ATP Finals 2024 group stage? All you need to know about the American's draw in Turin
Taylor Fritz ensured his place at the ATP Finals 2024 on the back of some impressive performances this year. He advanced to his maiden Major final in front of his home crowd at the US Open, and even though he came up short, it was a huge milestone for him.
Fritz also won the bronze medal in doubles at the Paris Olympics with Tommy Paul. He captured a couple of titles in singles as well, and reached his first career final on clay too. He has amassed a 49-21 record for the season so far, and is guaranteed to end the season in the top eight for the first time in his career.
This will also be his second appearance at the ATP Finals. He made his debut two years ago, reaching the semifinals. He beat Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime to get out of the group stage, and then lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
The American will be keen to improve upon his previous result at the tournament. However, that won't be an easy task given the challenging opposition. He has been drawn in the Ilie Nastase Group, and here are the three players Fritz will have to deal with in the group stage:
#1 Jannik Sinner
Fritz will face the tour's most in-form player this year, Sinner, in one of his three matches during the group stage of the ATP Finals 2024. The latter leads the former 2-1 in the head-to-head. Their very first encounter took place at the Indian Wells Masters 2021, in which the American came out on top in straight sets.
Their next meeting also took place at the same venue a couple of years later, and Sinner had the last laugh this time with a three-set victory. Their most high-profile match happened a few months ago, when they met in the final of the US Open. The Italian dispatched his older rival in straight sets to claim his second Major title.
Sinner has a 65-6 record this year, and has gone 11-0 against American players as well, with 10 of those matches being decided in straight sets. Given how far ahead of the pack he is at the moment, Fritz will certainly need to step up his game if he wants to get the better of the World No. 1.
#2 Daniil Medvedev
While most players who compete at the ATP Finals are familiar rivals, that is not the case with Medvedev and Fritz. They have squared off only once before, and that encounter also took place over two years ago. The Russian won that duel at the Cincinnati Open in straight sets.
Medvedev is the only player to qualify for the ATP Finals without winning a title this year. While he does have some deep runs under his belt, mainly runner-up finishes at the Australian Open and the Indian Wells Masters, he has lost his competitive edge against top players by a slight margin.
Medvedev has a 5-7 record against top-10 players this season, and bowed out from the Paris Masters, his previous tournament, without a win. This could be Fritz's ticket to getting out of the group stage given his rival's woes this year.
#3 Alex de Minaur
Fritz will have to deal with his nemesis de Minaur during the round robin phase as well. His rival from Down Under leads him 5-3 in the head-to-head. He won their first three matches before the American turned the tables on him by winning their next three duels.
The momentum is back with de Minaur once again, and he has won their last two meetings. Their most recent encounter took place at this year's United Cup, which he won in straight sets. The Australian will be making his debut at the ATP Finals, and is the first player from his country to qualify since Lleyton Hewitt's appearance in 2004.
De Minaur has a 47-16 record this year, and has won two titles. After an injury sustained at Wimbledon threatened his ATP Finals prospects, he has recovered quite well with some solid results. Fritz has his task cut out for him given his opponents, and he will need to be at his best right from the start if he intends to make a deep run here.