Tennis, ATP Finals 2025: Taylor Fritz breezes through round robin opener against Lorenzo Musetti
2025 ATP Finals – Fritz on fire with clinical display, Musetti left ruing chances
It was always going to be a tough debut for Musetti, who only knew he would play this match 48 hours ago. The ninth seed’s spot was confirmed after his defeat to Novak Djokovic in the Hellenic Championships final on Saturday (8 November) – Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Finals, giving his spot to first alternate Musetti.
Meanwhile, Fritz had 11 days to prepare for his opener following an early exit at the Paris Masters. The 28-year-old was sharper on court and thriving on the fast courts, which allowed him to neutralise his opponent and open up the court to his liking.
All four of Musetti’s break points came in the third game of the match, though Fritz stayed resolute to save them all and hold serve. It ignited something in the Californian’s own game as he responded by sealing the break at 3-1.
It was plain sailing from there for the sixth seed to seal the opening set, barely breaking sweat on his service with 79 per cent of points won on first serve.
Musetti needed a reaction but was not finding the same consistency; he had to work twice as hard to defend his serve in an 11-minute game to start the second set, but he could not withstand Fritz’s pressure on the next occasion in a break at 2-1.
Two double faults in the decisive final game put Musetti in a precarious position at 3-6, 3-5. He managed to salvage match point to hold and galvanise the raucous home crowd, going 30-0 up on Fritz’s serve. The U.S. player was not fazed, winning the remaining four points to get off to a winning start in northern Italy.
