The only break point of the first set came when Medvedev attempted a riskier second serve, which ultimately failed and resulted in the ball hitting the net. This misstep allowed Fritz to seize the set. The two players were evenly matched up to that point, so Medvedev’s failure seemed to hit him hard, and he expressed his dissatisfaction during the break by slamming his racket against his bench, leaving a dent. He then further damaged the racket by smashing it against the hard court at the Inapli Arena, twisting it into an unusable shape before discarding it behind him.
The chair umpire issued a code violation for Medvedev’s actions. As the second set progressed, Medvedev faced another setback, getting docked a point after being broken and allowing his temper to flare once more. In a moment of showmanship, he held his racket backward as if he were going to serve, provoking giggles from the audience before correcting his grip just before Fritz served.
Fritz remained focused, ultimately serving out the match cleanly without dropping a point, concluding with a serve-and-volley on his first match point. “It’s easy to get complacent when your opponent is struggling, but I reminded myself to stay concentrated and put forth a strong effort during important moments. Thankfully, my serve was on point,” Fritz remarked after his win.
Throughout the match, Fritz maintained a consistent playstyle, winning numerous extended rallies and landing a well-placed topspin lob that secured the pivotal break in the second set. He outperformed Medvedev with a total of 21 winners compared to his opponent’s 15, alongside 14 unforced errors against Medvedev’s 22.
Fritz’s journey in tennis has been noteworthy; he had previously made history in September as the first American man to reach a Grand Slam final in 15 years, although he lost that championship match to the top-ranked player, Jannik Sinner. This ATP Finals marks Fritz’s second appearance in the elite year-end tournament, where he previously defeated Rafael Nadal in his debut match two years ago before losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Later in the day, Sinner is set to compete against Alex de Minaur, who is participating in the finals for the first time, while Fritz looks forward to a rematch against Sinner later in the week. The other competitive bracket will kick off on Monday, featuring matches between Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud, along with Alexander Zverev taking on Andrey Rublev.
The top two players from each round-robin group will advance to the semifinals, an exciting prospect for all the competitors involved.