Taylor Fritz says what was ‘great’ about his own game after beating Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals

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Taylor Fritz has made a winning start at the ATP Finals after beating Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets.

Fritz reached the final of the ATP Finals last year, and he is looking to go one better at this year’s tournament.

However, the American has been placed in a challenging group with Carlos Alcaraz, who Fritz actually practiced with in Turin.

Fritz has already admitted his concerns about playing Alcaraz, but they did not appear to be playing a part in his victory over Musetti.

Taylor Fritz says he served ‘great’ against Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP Finals

Musetti only qualified for the ATP Finals after Novak Djokovic withdrew, and was a late arrival in Turin after playing in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Athens.

However, the Italian had actually beaten Fritz in all of their last three meetings, but Musetti was unable to continue that run after being beaten, 6-3 6-4.

When reflecting on the match in his on-court interview, Fritz was particularly pleased with how he served in the pivotal moments.

Fritz won 84% of his points on first serve and saved all four of the break points he faced in the match against Musetti.

“I am really happy. I thought I did a lot of things really well,” said Fritz. “I did a great job early on in the match to serve myself out of trouble and out of some break points.

“The whole second set I played well. I had a lot of chances to break that I felt I didn’t get to get the double break, so I am really happy that I was able to serve it out there and I didn’t come back to rue it. I made some mistakes in the last game but was able to get through it.”

Taylor Fritz explains why he thinks he plays well at the ATP Finals

This is Fritz’s third appearance at the ATP Finals, a tournament where he has advanced from his round-robin group on both previous occasions.

Fritz was also asked about why he thinks he plays well in Turin, to which he responded by speaking about how the conditions suited him, and explained how easy it is to be motivated by such a prestigious tournament.

“For me, it was a very long stretch from the start of grass court season all the way through the Asian swing, so I feel like it definitely got tough in the end there,” answered Fritz. “Physically and mentally it was tough.

“But every time I come here I like the conditions, I play well and it’s very easy to get motivated and fired up, really just lock in for the last tournament of the year, World Tour finals is a big deal so it’s easy to turn up for it.”

Fritz will look to continue his winning ways on Tuesday, November 11, when he takes on the aforementioned Alcaraz.

This will be a sixth meeting between Fritz and Alcaraz, with the latter leading the head-to-head 4-1.

Both players will know that victory in tomorrow’s match will put them within touching distance of reaching the ATP Finals semifinals.