ATP Finals: Novak Djokovic beats Taylor Fritz to reach final
Novak Djokovic is one step away from his first ATP Finals crown since 2015 after defeating Taylor Fritz in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic is one step away from his first ATP Finals crown since 2015 after defeating Taylor Fritz in straight sets.
Novak Djokovic passed a stern semi-final test from Taylor Fritz on Saturday at the Nitto ATP Finals, where the Serbian prevailed 7-6(5), 7-6(6) to move within one victory of equalling Roger Federer’s record of six titles at the prestigious season finale.
A spirited showing from Fritz saw the American recover a break deficit in the first set and surge to a 5-3 lead in the second. Despite struggling to consistently find his best level, however, Djokovic found a way to pull through in both tie-breaks as he wrapped a hard-fought one-hour, 54-minute victory at the Pala Alpitour.
“I had to fight to survive,” said Djokovic afterwards. “I didn’t feel very reactive today or very comfortable. I knew coming into today’s match from yesterday’s gruelling battle against [Daniil] Medvedev I knew it would take me some time to adjust and find the dynamic movement I need against Fritz, who is one of the best servers on the Tour.”
The seventh-seeded Djokovic delivered a solid rather than spectacular performance against Fritz, hitting just 21 winners to the eighth seed’s 31. He was delighted to claim victory in straight sets after his lung-busting three-hour, 11-minute round-robin triumph against Medvedev on Friday afternoon.
“I had to be very patient, I didn’t start the second set very well,” said Djokovic. “But I managed to break his serve at 5-4 when he was serving for the set, like when [Daniil] Medvedev was serving for the match yesterday. In those moments I find another gear and managed to hold my nerve and make him play another shot in the tie-break.
“I am very pleased to have overcome this one as I don’t think it was one of my best days with my tennis, but I managed to hang in there.”
The way in which Djokovic attacked Fritz’s second serve was key to his triumph. The Serbian won 61 per cent (14/23) of points against the American’s second delivery and converted both break points he had.
Djokovic can match the Swiss great Federer’s title tally on Sunday when he takes on Casper Ruud or Andrey Rublev in the championship match in Turin. Should he lift the trophy, Djokovic will also claim the largest payday in tennis history, with $4,740,300 on offer for claiming the Nitto ATP Finals trophy undefeated.
The 35-year-old Djokovic is chasing his fifth tour-level title of the season in Turin. The Rome, Wimbledon, Tel Aviv and Astana champion now holds a 45-17 career record at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he lifted the trophy in 2008 (in Shanghai) and in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 (in London).
Despite the disappointment of Friday’s defeat, Fritz was upbeat about how close he had pushed the 90-time tour-level champion Djokovic after reaching the semi-finals on his Nitto ATP Finals debut. The World No. 9 acknowledged his week in Turin had given him extra belief that he can consistently compete with his Top 10 rivals in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
“Typically I’m good at tie-breakers,” reflected Fritz. “I feel like my tie-breaker record throughout my career has definitely been really good. Today I played both tie-breakers pretty well… I’m right there. It’s small margins in tennis. It’s always like that. It’s very small margins. [I] just need to get that little bit better and I’m right there.”
Djokovic broke to love in the fifth game of the match against Fritz to build some early pressure, but the American responded well and immediately levelled for 3-3 as the Indian Wells, Eastbourne and Tokyo champion began to settle. Although both players still struggled to find their top level, it was Djokovic who produced a moment of magic on set point with a classy forehand winner that clinched the tie-break.
Fritz came out firing in the second set, breaking the Serbian in the opening game and looking increasingly confident in his maiden Nitto ATP Finals semi-final. It was a simple missed backhand from Fritz at 5-4, 30/30 that proved pivotal, although the American appeared distracted by someone calling from the crowd as he struck the ball. Djokovic capitalised to reclaim the break before securing victory in a dramatic tie-break to the delight of his vocal fans inside the Pala Alpitour.
“I enjoy having the atmosphere,” reflected Djokovic afterwards. “When people come and watch you play, they expect some kind of entertainment and good tennis and hopefully they enjoyed themselves, especially towards the end of the match. Every point against a player like Fritz who has a big serve counts.”
Turin 2022
Open Gallery
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury maintained their perfect record at this year’s Nitto ATP Finals Saturday when they overcame top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski 7-6(7), 6-4 to reach the final in Turin.
The American-British team went 3-0 in the round-robin stage and produced another inspired performance at the Pala Alpitour to earn their 36th tour-level win of the season together.
In a high-quality match that twisted one way and then the other, the second seeds produced their best level at crucial times. Ram crushed backhand winners down the line on return, while Salisbury showed great touch to flick an array of winners from all angles throughout the one-hour, 39-minute semi-final.
“We are very happy to be through,” Salisbury said. “I feel we are pretty good at handling whatever any situation we are in. It was tough not closing it out more straightforward in the [first set] tie-break, but we fought hard and got it done eventually. We then stayed focused and played pretty smart and held onto our serve well. We are pretty happy with the performance.”
”It is something I have worked really hard on,” Ram said when asked about his returning. “It is huge to keep in games and matches and I think it is my most improved area, so I am happy it paid off today.”
Ram and Salisbury are aiming to go one step further at the prestigious year-end event this year, having lost to Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut in the championship match last season. The American-British team will play Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic or Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara in Sunday’s final.
They now lead Koolhof and Skupski 3-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, having defeated the Dutch-British tandem in the US Open final in September.
Ram and Salisbury are seeking their fourth tour-level title of the season at the prestigious season finale in Italy. The duo triumphed at ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati.
With the pressure on, Ram and Salisbury flew out of the blocks in the semi-final. They soared into a 3-0 lead in the first set, before Koolhof and Skupski battled back, stepping up their intensity to level at 3-3. They then saved one set point on serve at 4-5, with the opener eventually moving to a tie-break. In a dramatic conclusion, Koolhof and Skupski saved a further five set points in the tie-break, including four from 2/6, before Ram and Salisbury finally claimed the opener on their seventh chance.
The second seeds then kept their focus in the second set, saving the one break point they faced to advance.
Koolhof and Skupski were honoured as the 2022 year-end ATP Doubles No. 1 team presented by Pepperstone on Thursday in Turin after enjoying a standout season that saw them win seven tour-level trophies, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Madrid, Montreal and Paris.
Koolhof lifted the trophy at the Nitto ATP Finals with Nikola Mektic in 2020, while Skupski was making his debut at the event.
Turin 2022
Open Gallery
The ATP has announced the launch of LOVE, a collection of stunning generative digital artworks created in collaboration with Art Blocks Engine and renowned artist Martin Grasser.
On sale from 6 December, the limited collection of NFTs will introduce new ways for fans to celebrate, admire and own impactful moments from the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. As a first-of-its kind generative art project in tennis, LOVE will capture official in-match data from the ATP Tour’s season finale to generate unique and iconic works of digital art.
Test outputs generated from 2021 Nitto ATP Finals match data.
The creative force behind LOVE is Martin Grasser, a leading artist and designer based in the Bay Area, supported by leading generative art house, ARTXCODE. Each piece of artwork tells the story of a winning play from the singles event in Turin, Italy, brought to life as a tennis ball striking a distinctively coloured court. The collection will include pieces of differing rarity including the Championship-Winning Point, Match-Winning Points, and Set-Winning Points, among other special editions.
In a world first, the project will generate artwork entirely from official tennis data, provided by Tennis Data Innovations. Shadows and court lines will indicate each ball’s location, velocity and direction of travel at the point of impact. Additional variables will be used to generate unexpected colours, texture and zoom, resulting in unique and beautiful collectibles for fans.
Martin Grasser: “Art is in everything—a newspaper, a letter, a swing in a tennis match. These ordinary objects and moments can be broken apart into simple components and built back up into more intricate languages.”
Test outputs generated from 2021 Nitto ATP Finals match data.
The collection is being delivered in collaboration with Art Blocks Engine, the world’s leading platform for generative digital art. It marks Art Blocks Engine’s first partnership in the sports world and ATP’s first venture in the web3 space.
Hugh Heslep, Art Blocks Chief Operating Officer: “Art Blocks Engine is the newest offering from Art Blocks, aimed at pushing forward the power of generative and allowing partners to share the magic of the minting experience with their communities. This project with ATP is a compelling use case for the intersection of tennis and dynamic digital collectibles, commemorating what will be historic moments from the Nitto ATP Finals. We are so excited to be a part of this project furthering the intersection of art, sports, and crypto.”
Adding to the suspense, LOVE collectors will only have their artwork revealed at the point of minting.
Following the mint and reveal, collectors will be able to order a high-quality physical print of their artwork via Level Frames. Fans will also be able to trade their LOVE NFT on the secondary market, with one per cent of secondary sales to be donated directly to the Giving Block’s Mental Health Impact Fund.
Daniele Sanó, ATP Chief Business Officer: “Web3 is unlocking incredible new opportunities to innovate and bring sport to life for fans. LOVE represents an exciting first step in the space for the ATP Tour. The collection allows fans to own unique artwork generated by our season finale and showcases the richness of data we have in tennis. We’re delighted to break new ground at the intersection of sports and web3 in collaboration with true leaders in the industry.”
Marco Martinasso, Director General, FIT Servizi: “The Nitto ATP Finals prides itself on innovation. This cutting-edge project is yet another reflection of that focus. We’re thrilled that fans will be able to own, cherish and celebrate special moments from Turin through this incredible digital art.”
The LOVE collection goes on sale on Tuesday, 6 December. To learn more about the project, and to purchase your NFT, visit www.art.tennis.
The doubles field has been halved after six days of play at the Nitto ATP Finals, with the four remaining teams set for semi-final Saturday in Turin.
In an afternoon-session meeting of the Top 2 teams in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski face Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in a rematch of the US Open final, won by Ram/Salisbury. The evening session at the Pala Alpitour will open with Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic taking on Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara.
Koolhof/Skupski, who were honoured as the 2022 ATP Doubles No. 1 presented by Pepperstone on Thursday, finished second in the Green Group with a 2-1 record. After a win against Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios in their opening match, a Friday win against Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek sealed their place in the semis. The Dutch-British pair is seeking its eighth ATP Tour title of the 2022 season.
Ram/Salisbury, who spent time as the World No. 1 doubles team this season before being overtaken by their semi-final opponents, were a perfect 3-0 in the Red Group. But the American-British pair still needed to win a set in their final round-robin match to clinch progress to the knockout rounds. In a tense match against Roland Garros champ Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer, they claimed the set they required in a second-set tie-break before winning their second Match Tie-break of the week.
The two best doubles teams of the 2022 ATP Tour season have met three times this year, with Ram/Salisbury winning in the Indian Wells quarter-finals and the US Open final — both in two tight sets. Koolhof/Skupski recorded a win via retirement in Dubai after winning a first-set tie-break.
This semi-final matchup is set for 11:30 a.m. CET / 5:30 a.m. ET.
Mektic/Pavic dropped just one set in compiling a 3-0 record in the Green Group, finishing their round-robin campaign with a 7-6(4), 7-6(4) win against Kokkinakis/Kyrgios. The Croatians are seeking their sixth team title of 2022, with the biggest of their current lot coming in Rome. They also reached three finals on the year, including at Wimbledon, where they lost to Aussies Matthew Ebden and Max Purcell in a fifth-set tie-break.
The 33-year-old Mektic is bidding for his second Nitto ATP Finals title after winning the 2020 crown with Koolhof.
Glasspool/Heliovaara clinched their semi-final berth with a statement 6-0, 6-4 win against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Thursday. The British-Finnish pair seeks its eighth final and second title of the 2022 season. They have two ATP Tour titles as a team, in Marseille (2021) and Hamburg (2022).
This matchup will open the evening session at the Pala Alputour at 6:30 p.m. CET / 12:30 p.m. ET.
Both Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev compiled 2-1 group-stage records to progress to Saturday’s semi-finals in Turin. The lone loss for each man at the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals came against one of the game’s all-time greats: Ruud fell to Rafael Nadal while Rublev was turned back by Novak Djokovic.
Norway’s Ruud was already through to the semis when he came up against Rafa, his wins against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz enough to clinch first place in the Green Group. Those two victories matched his win total across four events after the US Open.
“I didn’t imagine that I would be in that position after two matches, but luckily I was,” a recharged Ruud said of his early qualification for the knockout rounds.
As such, he was able to conserve some energy on Thursday against Nadal at the tail-end of a gruelling season: “I just tried to keep my flow going, [made sure] that I had a good rhythm… not risking too much in terms of my body and the physical aspects of the match.”
Rublev had no such luxury in his Friday Red Group finale against Stefanos Tsitsipas — a winner-takes all showdown that essentially served as a quarter-final. The 25-year-old had his back to the wall after losing a one-sided opening set against the Greek, but Rublev clawed his way back into the match and ultimately ran away with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
“I kept fighting,” Rublev said when asked what he was most proud of from his effort. “I kept just saying to myself, ‘It doesn’t matter how he’s playing, how good he’s playing, just fight for every ball.’ In the end I was able to start to play better and better. In the end I was able to turn around the match. I’m happy.”
The World No. 7 was in the same position at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals, needing a win in his final round-robin match to advance. Facing none other than Ruud, he fell just short of the semis with a 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(5) defeat. Now through to the knockout rounds for the first time in three consecutive appearances at the Nitto ATP Finals, Rublev has his chance for revenge.
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Ruud, whose lone win in five previous ATP Head2Head meetings with Rublev came in that Turin tilt, hopes to continue to fill out his hard-court resume after following up a semi-final run in his Nitto ATP Finals debut with a breakout 2022 season on the surface. The 23-year-old reached the final in both Miami and the US Open this season, and also reached the Roland Garros final in addition to winning three tour-level titles on clay.
Rublev is seeking his fifth ATP Tour title of the 2022 season, which would match his career-best return from 2020. Nine of his 12 career titles have come on hard courts, including five indoors.
This evening semi-final has a start time of not before 9 p.m. CET / 3 p.m. ET.
Novak Djokovic put forth a Herculean effort to finish his Nitto ATP Finals group campaign at 3-0, battling Daniil Medvedev for more than three hours on Friday with his place in the knockout rounds already secured. Roughy 21 hours after a forehand winner punctuated his victory, the first serve will be struck in the Serbian’s semi-final against Taylor Fritz in Turin.
Djokovic takes a 5-0 ATP Head2Head record against the American into the contest, their most recent meeting coming one year ago at the Rolex Paris Masters. Will the 35-year-old be able to recover in time to extend his two winning streaks?
“Well, I’m not the freshest guy right now, as I was maybe yesterday,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference. But he won’t be wasting any of his precious energy worrying about his reserves.
“On the physical side, I’m not worried because worry just depletes you of the vital energy you need,” he continued. “I’ve had many cases in my life before where I managed to recover very quickly. Hopefully that’s going to be the case again.”
One of those previous instances came when Djokovic won the 2021 Australian Open despite an abdominal oblique tear — an injury which first seriously affected him during a third-round matchup against none other than Fritz.
The American is through to his fourth tour-level semi-final of the season in Turin, and he has won the title at each 2022 event in which he’s reached the final four. While Fritz is not reading too far into that statistic, he takes pride in his record at the business end of tournaments.
“I didn’t know that until the last tournament. I’m just going to continue not really thinking about it,” he said.
“For me, that is probably the most impressive stat because the difference in points to winning a tournament and losing the semi-finals is massive. One of the only reasons why I’m ranked where I’m ranked is because every time I’ve gone to the semis, I’ve been able to win the tournament. It’s been a big part of my year.”
After wins against Rafael Nadal and Felix Auger-Aliassime earned him his semi-final place, Fritz is looking forward to the chance to pick up his first win against Djokovic on the ATP Tour’s biggest stage.
“It’s a great opportunity,” he said of the occasion. “I look forward to playing Novak. Obviously he’s one of the best, if not the best. He’s done pretty well here in the past.”
Indeed, only one man has won more Nitto ATP Finals than Djokovic’s five. The Serbian is two wins away from matching Roger Federer’s six titles at the season finale.
| Player | Titles |
| 1. Roger Federer | 6 |
| 2. Novak Djokovic | 5 |
| Ivan Lendl | 5 |
| Pete Sampras | 5 |
| 5. Ilie Nastase | 4 |
Both Djokovic and Fritz have been at home on the indoor hard court at the Pala Alpitour. Fritz feels the slick conditions are an equaliser on the serve, comments which suggest a benefit for Djokovic in this particular match.
“Holding serve by far is the most important thing on this court, holding serve and returning,” the American said. “But you don’t necessarily have to be serving amazing. If you just hit your spots, take care of the serve, it’s going to look like everyone is serving incredible.”
While Djokovic may not possess as powerful a serve as Fritz, the Serbian is a master at hitting his spots — and hitting them on the biggest points. In a marquee match that could come down to a few key shots, those pressure moments will likely prove decisive.
This evening semi-final will be played in the day session, with a start time of not before 2 p.m. CET / 8 a.m. ET.
Stefanos Tsitsipas flew out of the gate in a winner-takes-all Red Group finale agains Andrey Rublev on Friday at the Nitto ATP Finals. But after a flawless opening set, the Greek lost his way as Rublev roared into the Turin semi-finals with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win.
While Tsitsipas was quick to credit his opponent — “Things were coming off the racquet pretty good from his side,” he said of Rublev — the second seed also rued his missed opportunity in a match he felt was his for the taking.
“It’s a shame,” he said in his post-match press conference. “I feel like the better player. I felt like I could do more with the ball today. I felt like I could just be much more creative. I don’t even have to say that. I think it’s quite obvious.
“But, yeah, he prevailed with the few tools that he has. He was able to really take advantage of them and win today.”
While Rublev showed his frustration at the start of the second set, it was the Greek who was left flustered late, his ground game deserting him in the final set. His unraveling was completed by consecutive double faults which handed Rublev a double-break lead for 5-2 in the decider.
Due to Rublev’s positioning close to the baseline, Tsitsipas was unable to attack the net — a strategy he employed 45 times in his win against Daniil Medvedev.
“When you have an opponent standing so close to the baseline, he gives you less time to come to the front of the net,” he explained. “I didn’t really do it. I think I did it twice today.
“I wouldn’t say it would have perhaps changed the game, but I could have used it a bit more. He hits the ball slightly more powerful than my previous opponent and has better passing shots, I would say. That’s the reason why I chose to play the game I played today.”
Tsitsipas finalises his ATP Tour season with a 61-24 record and will finish the year with the most wins on Tour. He currently sits third in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, though Capsper Ruud could pass him by reaching the final.
Entering Turin, the Greek had an opportunity to pass Carlos Alcaraz for the year-end No. 1 honour in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but his hopes were dashed by an opening defeat to Novak Djokovic.
Still, Tsitsipas is in position to accomplish his preseason goal of finishing the season in the Top 3.
“That was my goal from the beginning of the year, which I was still kind of not fully convinced that I can do it because of my [elbow] injury at the end of the previous year,” Tsitsipas said. “But after having a few good results in the beginning of the year, I thought maybe I can actually do it this year and break into the Top 3 again.”
As for 2023, the Greek has a clear priority for his offseason training: “My goal for the pre-season is going to be perhaps a bit more consistent with my returns, because I think if I’m able to improve on that aspect of my game, I can do more damage.”
Andrey Rublev fired up his forehand to forge an exhilarating turnaround against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday night in Turin, where the sixth seed clinched a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 win to reach the semi-finals at the Nitto ATP Finals.
In a winner-takes-all match to decide the second-place finisher in Red Group, Rublev withstood an early barrage from Tsitsipas to claim a milestone victory at the prestigious season finale. Although the Greek’s bright start had his opponent under pressure at the Pala Alpitour, Rublev continued to hit through his groundstrokes throughout the match to seal his 51st tour-level win of the season.
The Marseille, Dubai, Belgrade and Gijon champion Rublev had lost his two prior ATP Head2Head clashes with Tsitsipas in 2022. Yet he displayed admirable resilience at key moments on Friday night in Turin, crashing 36 winners to seal a high-quality one-hour, 42-minute victory .
The 25-year-old Rublev, who had not progressed from the group stage in his two previous Nitto ATP Finals appearances, will meet third seed Casper Ruud in Saturday’s semi-finals.
More to follow…
