Alex de Minaur stays alive in ATP Finals race; knocks out Taylor Fritz

TURIN(Italy):Australia’s Alex de Minaur kept his Nitto ATP Finals semi-final hopes alive with a determined 7-6(3), 6-3 win over America’s Taylor Fritz in the Jimmy Connors group on Thursday in Turin. The result also ended Fritz’s campaign at this year’s season-ending championship, as per the official website of ATP.

After suffering a heartbreaking three-set loss to Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday, De Minaur knew he had to defeat Fritz in straight sets to stand any chance of progressing. Rising to the challenge, the seventh seed produced a commanding and aggressive performance to finish the round-robin stage with a 1-2 record.

If World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who has already secured his semi-final spot, beats Lorenzo Musetti later in the evening, the Australian will join him in the last four. A Musetti victory, however, would send the Italian through.

“I have dealt with a fair bit of heartbreak recently, so it was good to finally get a win here in Turin,” said De Minaur, as quoted from the official website of ATP.

“I have worked really hard so it was good to get some positive feedback or a positive reward for the hard work, so I am very happy with the performance,” he noted.

The win marked De Minaur’s first-ever triumph at the Nitto ATP Finals after going winless (0-3) in his debut campaign last year. He also moved ahead 6-5 in his head-to-head record against Fritz.

Fritz, who reached the final in Turin last year, had started this edition well with a win over Musetti before falling to Alcaraz in three sets.

The sixth seed wraps up his season with a 53-23 win-loss record. The American captured two titles on grass in Eastbourne and Stuttgart.

Earlier, Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-3 in his group stage clash. (ANI)