Fritz beats De Minaur to boost last-four hopes
Taylor Fritz boosts his hopes of reaching the last four of the ATP Finals with a comeback victory against Australia’s Alex de Minaur.
Taylor Fritz boosts his hopes of reaching the last four of the ATP Finals with a comeback victory against Australia’s Alex de Minaur.
A trademark Daniil Medvedev backhand down-the-line winner, but with a difference!
The World No. 4’s classy groundstroke against Alex de Minaur in Turin has been reimagined as Tuesday’s AR Immersive Hot Shot. To help attract a younger audience and bring ATP tennis into people’s lives in a new and innovative way, Nitto ATP Finals Immersive Highlights use cutting edge AR technology, 3D modelling and live data to produce tennis moments like never before.
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Jannik Sinner’s homecoming demonstrates he has already joined Italy’s sporting pantheon after the most successful – and eventful – year of his career.
Watch retired Manchester United and Uruguay footballer Diego Forlan make his professional tennis debut in a doubles event in Montevideo, losing 6-1 6-2 in 47 minutes.
The Nitto ATP Finals is down to the final round of group-play matches. Who will advance to the semi-finals of the season finale?
The only qualifiers so far are Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, who have won the Bob Bryan Group.
No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner is 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group and in good position to earn his place in the knockout rounds for the second consecutive year. The Italian faces Daniil Medvedev on Thursday evening.
See below for the full list of Nitto ATP Finals qualification scenarios.
Qualifications
– Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz have won the Bob Bryan Group with one round-robin match remaining and qualified for the semi-finals.
Singles Ilie Nastase Group qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event’s group stage:
1) Regardless of score, if J. SINNER defeats D. MEDVEDEV and T. FRITZ defeats A. DE MINAUR, then J. SINNER wins the group and T. FRITZ qualifies 2nd.
2) Regardless of score, if D. MEDVEDEV defeats J. SINNER and A. DE MINAUR defeats T. FRITZ, then D. MEDVEDEV wins the group and J. SINNER qualifies 2nd.
3) If J. SINNER defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 2 sets and A. DE MINAUR defeats T. FRITZ in 2 sets, then J. SINNER wins the group and order of remaining players is determined by % of games won.
4) If J. SINNER defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 2 sets and A. DE MINAUR defeats T. FRITZ in 3 sets, then J. SINNER wins the group and T. FRITZ qualifies 2nd.
5) If J. SINNER defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 3 sets and A. DE MINAUR defeats T. FRITZ in 2 sets, then J. SINNER wins the group and D. MEDVEDEV qualifies 2nd.
6) If J. SINNER defeats D. MEDVEDEV in 3 sets and A. DE MINAUR defeats T. FRITZ in 3 sets, then J. SINNER wins the group and T. FRITZ qualifies 2nd.
7) If D. MEDVEDEV defeats J. SINNER in 2 sets and T. FRITZ defeats A. DE MINAUR in 2 sets, then A. DE MINAUR is eliminated and order of remaining players is determined by % of games won.
8) If D.MEDVEDEV defeats J. SINNER in 2 sets and T. FRITZ defeats A. DE MINAUR in 3 sets, then D. MEDVEDEV wins the group and J. SINNER qualifies 2nd.
9) If D. MEDVEDEV defeats J. SINNER in 3 sets and T. FRITZ defeats A. DE MINAUR in 2 sets, then J. SINNER wins the group and T. FRITZ qualifies 2nd
10)If D. MEDVEDEV defeats J. SINNER in 3 sets and T. FRITZ defeats A. DE MINAUR in 3 sets, then J. SINNER wins the group and T. FRITZ qualifies 2nd.
Singles John Newcombe Group qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event’s group stage:
1) Regardless of score, if A. ZVEREV defeats C. ALCARAZ and C. RUUD defeats A. RUBLEV, then A. ZVEREV wins the group and C. RUUD qualifies 2nd.
2) Regardless of score, if C. ALCARAZ defeats A. ZVEREV and A. RUBLEV defeats C. RUUD, then C. ALCARAZ wins the group and A. ZVEREV qualifies 2nd.
3) If A. ZVEREV defeats C. ALCARAZ in 2 sets and A. RUBLEV defeats C. RUUD in 2 sets, then A. ZVEREV wins the group and order of remaining players is determined by % of games won.
4) If A. ZVEREV defeats C. ALCARAZ in 2 sets and A. RUBLEV defeats C. RUUD in 3 sets, then A. ZVEREV wins the group and C. RUUD qualifies 2nd.
5) If A. ZVEREV defeats C. ALCARAZ in 3 sets and A. RUBLEV defeats C. RUUD in 2 sets, then A. ZVEREV wins the group and C. ALCARAZ qualifies 2nd.
6) If A. ZVEREV defeats C. ALCARAZ in 3 sets and A. RUBLEV defeats C. RUUD in 3 sets, then A. ZVEREV wins the group and C. RUUD qualifies 2nd.
7) If C. ALCARAZ defeats A. ZVEREV in 2 sets and C. RUUD defeats A. RUBLEV in 2 sets, then A. RUBLEV is eliminated and order of remaining players is determined by % of games won.
8) If C. ALCARAZ defeats A. ZVEREV in 2 sets and C. RUUD defeats A. RUBLEV in 3 sets, then C. ALCARAZ wins the group and A. ZVEREV qualifies 2nd.
9) If C. ALCARAZ defeats A. ZVEREV in 3 sets and C. RUUD defeats A. RUBLEV in 2 sets, then A. ZVEREV wins the group and C. RUUD qualifies 2nd.
10) If C. ALCARAZ defeats A. ZVEREV in 3 sets and C. RUUD defeats A. RUBLEV in 3 sets, then A. ZVEREV wins the group and C. RUUD qualifies 2nd.
Doubles Bob Bryan Group qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event’s group stage:
1) Regardless of score, if M. AREVALO / M. PAVIC defeat S. BOLELLI / A. VAVASSORI and R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN defeat K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ, then K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ win the group and M. AREVALO / M. PAVIC qualify 2nd.
2) Regardless of score, if M. AREVALO / M. PAVIC defeat S. BOLELLI / A. VAVASSORI and K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ defeat R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN, then K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ win the group and M. AREVALO / M. PAVIC qualify 2nd.
3) Regardless of score, if S. BOLELLI / A. VAVASSORI defeat M. AREVALO / M. PAVIC and R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN defeat K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ, then K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ win the group and S. BOLELLI / A. VAVASSORI qualify 2nd.
4) Regardless of score, if S. BOLELLI / A. VAVASSORI defeat M. AREVALO / M. PAVIC and K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ defeat R. BOPANNA / M. EBDEN, then K. KRAWIETZ / T. PUETZ win the group and S. BOLELLI / A. VAVASSORI qualify 2nd.
Doubles Mike Bryan Group qualification scenarios after the completion of the 2nd round of the event’s group stage:
1) Regardless of score, if M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS defeat M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON and W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC defeat H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN, then W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC win the group and H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN qualify 2nd.
2) Regardless of score, if M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON defeat M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS and W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC defeat H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN, then H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN win the group and M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON qualify 2nd.
3) Regardless of score, if M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON defeat M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS and H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN defeat W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC, then H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN win the group and M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON qualify 2nd.
4) If M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS defeat M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON in 2 sets and H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN defeat W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC in 2 sets, then H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN win the group and M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS qualify 2nd.
5) If M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS defeat M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON in 2 sets and H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN defeat W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC in 3 sets, then H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN win the group and M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS qualify 2nd.
6) If M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS defeat M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON in 3 sets and H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN defeat W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC in 2 sets, then H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN win the group and M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON qualify 2nd.
7) If M. GRANOLLERS / H. ZEBALLOS defeat M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON in 3 sets and H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN defeat W. KOOLHOF / N. MEKTIC in 3 sets, then H. HELIOVAARA / H. PATTEN win the group and M. PURCELL / J. THOMPSON qualify 2nd.
Retired footballer Diego Forlan loses 6-1 6-2 in 47 minutes on his professional tennis debut in a doubles event in Uruguay.
Daniil Medvedev stands 6’6”, but does not move like a player that tall. His court coverage helped him climb to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings in 2022.
A lot more goes into that than hard work. Gilles Cervara and the rest of Medvedev’s team drill down to every available detail using wearables to push the boundaries of how well they can prepare the 28-year-old for action.
“It all started in 2020 when we had the plan to improve Daniil’s preparation. One of our teammates came from other sports, especially rugby and soccer, so he had experience with GPS,” Cervara told ATPTour.com, referring to wearables. “He gave us the idea to use it for practice because at that time, we couldn’t use it in matches to have numbers of our different practices and then to compare with matches.
“For matches we didn’t have numbers from GPS, we couldn’t, but we created our own analysis to have numbers of the different movements. And then from those analyses, we put the GPS on during practices, during sets or matches in practice, to also have numbers to compare.”
The idea was to create what Cervara called a “worst-case scenario”. What would be the toughest situation Medvedev would face on court? In that scenario, how many times would he need to change direction? How many times would he need to sprint? At what speed?
“From that we created our own practices to push him to this same limit and it becomes a focus,” Cervara said. “We [know if we] work enough or we didn’t work enough to reach our goals. [We look at the] numbers we need to reach to reach the same [output] as a Grand Slam match.”
According to Cervara, the 2019 ATP Coach of the Year, it is not only about the physical side of performance, but everything that goes into thriving in an extended match.
“The worst-case scenario could be to play five hours or five hours and a half,” Cervara said. “That’s what he experienced against Nadal, against so many players. And during those matches we need to know how many sprints or changes of directions.”
Before wearables were available, Cervara took as long as 10 hours to make similar analyses of matches. Now it has become much easier for Cervara to learn about his player’s efforts and optimise practices to achieve peak performance.
“[We know] if we want him to be prepared for these kind of matches, then we need to do this, this and this during practices, so let’s create those practices,” Cervara said. “We created those practices and then after the practice, with the GPS, we could check if he made the amount of sprints and changes of direction he needs to do during the match.
“It is just to make sure, ‘Okay, when he’s going to be faced with a five-hour match against Sinner or before, Novak and Nadal, we need to be sure that he made it during practice, that he’s prepared for this’. And it is not only during preseason. It is during all the year, constantly.”
Without these innovations, Cervara said he would not truly be able to make measurements. The Frenchman said it would just be about feel. He added: “We need objective numbers”.
Now, wearables are nearly a daily part of Medvedev’s routine. Although the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings does not utilise them in matches — despite ATP rules allowing it — Cervara explained the importance of using them in practice.
“You’re able to say, ‘Okay, this practice we made this amount of shots, this amount of serves. We made this intensity or this number of sprints or this distance every day’,” Cervara said. “When you use it every day for five years, you almost know straightaway without GPS what it’s going to be.”
[ATP APP]ATP Chief Sporting Officer Ross Hutchins said: “As a Tour, we are committed to driving the sport forward through innovation. That’s why we introduced wearables, which were approved for in-competition use earlier this year. It’s crucial to provide players with the tools to aim to enhance their performance and prevent injury. We look forward to continuing to support them in gaining insight and maximising their careers.”
Cervara has made data from wearables key to his preparation because it allows him to know exactly what is going on with his player.
“It just gave me a clear vision of what we do every day, a clear vision of what Daniil can experience on court during matches,” Cervara said. “It gives you a clear vision, is more objective and it helps a lot. That’s the main thing. It helps a lot to create good practices to prepare the player for the reality of matches.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]All eyes are on the best players in the world this week at the Nitto ATP Finals. The future is in Turin, too.
An annual tradition at the season finale is that the hitting partners for the players are some of the best rising stars in the sport. The ATP selects one player from the Next Gen Accelerator, one from the College Accelerator within it, and the No. 1-ranked junior player in the world.
This year’s hitting partners are former college standout Andres Martin, 19-year-old Bolivian Juan Carlos Prado Angelo and 18-year-old Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjaer, the world’s No. 1 junior.
“It’s been a really cool experience. You’re surrounded by the top eight guys in the world and even Stefanos [Tsitsipas] and [Grigor] Dimitrov, who are just as good as all these guys, are walking around really casually,” Martin said. “It’s really nice, you get a feeling, you see the level. You see what these guys are doing off the court, on the court. It’s really cool to watch and maybe try to take a little bit of bits and pieces of guys’ games and apply it to yourself.
“It’s really an unbelievable learning process for me. I’m really honoured to be here, and it’s really cool to watch everybody and be a part of it.”
[ATP APP]Martin found especially helpful conversations he had with Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history.
“I was asking questions about my situation, and he was telling me some personal things about him. So I think it was really cool to have that one-on-one interaction. I think it’s really cool how other players take interest in upcoming players. I thought that was really special, just how nice these guys are,” Martin said. “They’re really helping, and even [Jannik] Sinner, no matter [who] I ask a question, they’re really eager to answer, and I think it’s really nice.”
<img alt=”Andres Martin” style=”width:100%;” src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/11/13/22/17/martin-nitto-atp-finals-2024-practice.jpg” />
Photo: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour
The former Georgia Institute of Technology star asked Alcaraz several questions about his game and found the Spaniard’s answers insightful.
“He was just like, ‘The biggest thing is to understand your identity as a player. Once you figure that out, then you can go out and really just try to be that person every time you step on the court’,” Martin said. “So I think that’s something to take with me for the future.”
Budkov Kjaer won the Wimbledon boys’ singles title this year and has already grown to know some of the sport’s best players. The teen has had a top example in countryman Casper Ruud.
Even so, it has been a special week for a player trying to learn what it takes to succeed as a professional.
“It’s a great experience and a memory you will carry through your whole life,” Budkov Kjaer said. “It’s not every day you get the chance to play with some of the best players in the world. And of course, I’m extremely happy to have the chance to be here.”
Prado Angelo is at a career-high No. 274 in the PIF ATP Rankings, but he had only played one hard-court event in 2024 when he arrived in Turin.
“I’m not used to playing these conditions indoor hard,” Prado Angelo said. “In South America, we’re not used to but I am trying to play more low. They are like trying to teach me some tips.”
The Bolivian expressed his thanks for all the players. “Alcaraz, for the language, for me, was the easiest one, because we speak both Spanish. De Minaur too speaks Spanish, but they are all good,” Prado Angelo said. “They were kind with me, and I just like everyone.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Alexander Zverev maintained his red-hot late-season form in impressive fashion on Wednesday night at the Nitto ATP Finals.
The German downed Casper Ruud 7-6(3), 6-3 in Turin to notch his second victory of the week at the prestigious season finale in Turin. Although Ruud appeared full of confidence after upsetting Carlos Alcaraz in his opening match, Zverev ground down the Norwegian with a rock-solid 86-minute display at Inalpi Arena.
“A good match. I thought both of us played quite good tennis,” said Zverev, who outhit Ruud by 28 winners to 13. “I’m happy with the win. Maybe it was even better than my first match, even though the first match was quite good as well. I’m looking forward to Carlos now on Friday and hopefully more matches at the weekend.”
With his Tour-leading 68th victory of 2024, Zverev improved to 2-0 in John Newcombe Group. The Rome and Paris champion will take on Alcaraz in his final group match on Friday, when he will bid to secure his semi-final spot. Zverev is chasing his third Nitto ATP Finals title, having previously lifted the trophy in London in 2018 and Turin in 2021.
Zverev and Ruud were closely matched in an intriguing opening set that featured no break points but plenty of high-quality all-court exchanges. It was the second-seeded German who pulled clear when it mattered most, however, as he quickly established an ultimately unassailable 6/1 lead in the tie-break.
The second set played out in a similar fashion, with Ruud battling hard to cope with his opponent’s powerful serve and rasping groundstrokes. Just when the encounter seemed destined for a second tie-break, however, Zverev capitalised on a rare loose service game from his opponent to steal a decisive break for 5-3. From there, Zverev had no problem closing out his second win of the week, following his victory on Monday against Andrey Rublev.
A statement win? 🗣️@AlexZverev with firing top scores for serve and forehand #ShotQuality during his group stage win tonight 🔥#TennisInsights | @atptour | #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/BSQ8nJv4TS
— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) November 13, 2024
In a match of relatively fine margins, Zverev’s ability to hit through the court proved key. His superior winner count included 11 aces and he also won 87 per cent (41/47) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The in-form German, who lifted his second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season in Paris 10 days ago, is yet to face a break point this week in Turin.
Zverev’s seventh consecutive tour-level win consolidated his bid to finish the year as World No. 2 for the first time. Currently second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, the German is 505 points clear of third-placed Alcaraz heading into their Friday showdown in Italy.
Zverev arrived in Turin with the most Nitto ATP Finals experience of the eight singles players. The 27-year-old is competing at the event for the seventh time, and he has racked up a 16-9 win/loss record overall.
“It means I’m old!,” joked Zverev when asked about his long history with the prestigious season finale. “But I still don’t feel old. I hope I have another solid 10 years ahead of me, but I think it’s a young group of guys. There has been kind of a shift in tennis this year and I think it’s a good thing. They’re exciting new players and everybody loves watching them.”
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Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have quickly established themselves at the top of the sport, and a big reason why is because of their performance against the best players in the world.
Entering the season, only four players since 2000 had earned at least 13 wins against opponents inside the world’s Top 10 in a single season. They are the legendary ‘Big Four’ of Novak Djokovic (10x), Roger Federer (10x), Rafael Nadal (4x) and Andy Murray (3x).
Sinner has joined the elite group by earning 14 Top 10 victories entering the final match of round-robin play at the Nitto ATP Finals. Alcaraz is one triumph away from adding his name to the exclusive list with a round-robin clash to go on Friday against Alexander Zverev.
“That’s good to know for my confidence to go up a little bit,” said Alcaraz, who cracked a smile when told about his 12-4 record against the Top 10 this season.
Most Wins vs. Top 10 (2024)
| Players | Top 10 Wins | Winning % vs. Top 10 |
| 1) Jannik Sinner | 14-5 | 73.7% |
| 2) Carlos Alcaraz | 12-4 | 75% |
| 3) Taylor Fritz | 8-9 | 47.1% |
| T4) Alexei Popyrin | 6-4 | 60% |
| T4) Grigor Dimitrov | 6-5 | 54.5% |
| T4) Alexander Zverev | 6-6 | 50% |
| T4) Daniil Medvedev | 6-8 | 42.9% |
Not only have they earned a lot of Top 10 wins this year, but they have been doing so at a historic success rate.
According to Infosys ATP Stats, Bjorn Borg holds the career record for winning percentage against the Top 10 at 71.1 per cent. The Swede is the only qualifying player on record with a winning percentage of more than 70 per cent.
Alcaraz has claimed 75 per cent of his Top 10 matches this year (12-4) and Sinner has emerged victorious from 73.7 per cent of his Top 10 matches (14-5). According to Alcaraz, it is key against the very best to focus on playing “good tennis”.
“Obviously playing against the top players, you think to yourself that you have to play at your best tennis. If not, you are going to lose against them. That helps a lot,” Alcaraz said. “Before matches against top players, realise what kind of game, what kind of shots you are going to play or you’re going to hit. I think that’s it.
In tennis, really important [is]the mental game, the way you talk to yourself before the matches.”
The Spaniard explained how he puts himself in a different mindset to meet the challenge against the very best opponents.
“When I’m going to play against a top player, I’m going to repeat myself that I’m better,” Alcaraz said. “I’m going to play my best, my 100 per cent just to beat them.”
Sinner’s Top 10 turnaround helped him climb to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings in June. Entering 2024, the Italian was 22-27 when facing the elite group. This year he is 14-5 and all five of his defeats were in a deciding set.
Sinner is 2-0 in the Ilie Nastase Group and Alcaraz is 1-1 in the John Newcombe Group as they both try to reach the semi-finals at the Inalpi Arena. Their success the rest of the week in Turin will rely on their efforts against Top 10 opponents.
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