Copyright Essentially Sports
World No. 6 Taylor Fritz needed just an hour and 42 minutes to take care of business against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals in Turin on Monday. In front of a packed and partisan crowd at the Inalpi Arena, the American put on a clinic of disciplined, aggressive baseline tennis, keeping his cool from start to finish to cruise to a 6-3, 6-4 victory and quiet the home fans in style. Played on the hard courts of Turin, a surface that’s treated both players differently this season, the matchup tilted in Fritz’s favor from the start. Coming in as the favorite, the 28-year-old American finally showed what clicked this time. After three tough losses to the Italian, Fritz opened up on what really worked against Lorenzo Musetti and what finally turned things around. After the match, Taylor Fritz was asked about finally getting past Lorenzo Musetti after three straight losses. The American, smiling and relaxed, admitted that it wasn’t so much about strategy as it was about execution. “I don’t know if it’s strategic,” he said. “I think it’s just the things that I want to do against him work on a fast court.” ADVERTISEMENT Fritz also explained that his game plan has always been harder to pull off on slower surfaces, where Musetti’s touch and variety make it tougher to stay aggressive. He even pointed out their Wimbledon meeting, saying, “He did get me the one time at Wimbledon, but with the grass, that almost helped him a bit too.” On grass, Musetti’s low slices forced Fritz to lift the ball more, limiting his ability to hit through the court. But in Turin, Taylor Fritz mentioned that things were different. The fast indoor hard court gave Fritz the edge he needed to play his natural attacking style. “I feel like this court’s fast… I didn’t have to redline off his chips to hurt him and stay aggressive,” he said. For Fritz, the key was all about court speed as it allowed him to rush Musetti, dictate the pace, and finally flip the script in their head-to-head. ADVERTISEMENT
