Atp Finals, Fritz beats Auger Aliassime and goes to the semifinal against Djokovic

Taylor Fritz wins the challenge with Felix Auger-Aliassime for the conquest of the semifinal of the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin. The reserve, entered among the eight masters only because of the lump sum of number one Carlos Alcaraz, thus flies among the magnificent four, and it is a surprise. The Californian deserved it, at the end of an almost double match with the Canadian (7-6 (4) 6-7 (5) 6-2 the result), which was decided in the third set after two ties break and with no one losing serve until 3-2 of the third set and 2 hours and 30 minutes of play, when an unfortunate serving game cost Aliassime the match. There was then another break at 5-2 for Fritz, but the 22-year-old new student of Toni Nadal was already gone. It was not a good meeting, not bad but often boring, where the services were the masters. Until the sixth game of the third, there had been only three break points and, ironically, all for the Canadian, who hadn’t really conceded anything in his innings but hadn’t been able to take advantage of chances. The surface of the Pala Alpitour, it is understood, almost excessively rewards service shifts, and there are few breaks, except if you are Novak Djokovic and you have the best answer in history. Here, Fritz will have to deal with the Serbian in the semifinals, who took the pass and first place already on Wednesday, and he certainly doesn’t start with the favors of the forecast against the former world number one, strongly intending to take his sixth Finals.

Pool

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The American among the eight had never been there until this year, and few expected him to be able to get past a group that was made up of Rafael Nadal, Casper Ruud (already qualified) and Auger-Aliassime, who it came from an extraordinary season finale and from which, needless to hide it, more was expected. Roger Federer’s 22-year-old “twin” (born, obviously, 19 years later but on the same day, August 8), missed the decisive moments and almost never showed the qualities that had brought him here, with the final rush of 16 consecutive fight wins and three tournaments. He has all the time in the world to make up for it, growth is there despite these disappointing Finals. Fritz’s victory is almost good news for Davis’s Italy too, given that the Azzurri will challenge the United States in the quarter-finals in Malaga and maybe Taylor will arrive a little tired at the appointment. Given Sinner’s forfeit and Berrettini’s physical troubles, we also cling to this.

Red group

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Today the last two matches of the red group: at 2 pm Novak Djokovic will open the dance against Daniil Medvedev, in a match where neither of them has anything to ask for, from 9 pm Stefanos Tsitsipas against Andrej Rublev, who instead will play a direct match for a place in the semifinal against Casper Ruud.