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The match was the finale of the Green Group round robin. Both
players entered with 1-1 records, with the winner set to grab
the second semifinal berth from the group and the loser to be
eliminated.
Third-seeded Casper Rudd of Norway finished first in the group
with a 2-1 mark despite losing 7-5, 7-5 to already-eliminated
Rafael Nadal, the Spaniard who was the event's top seed. Rudd
wound up with a 2-1 mark, taking first player in the Green Group
based on his head-to-head win over Fritz.
Nadal finished with a 1-2 record.
Fritz prevailed by winning 88 percent of his first-serve points
and saving all three break points he faced.
Neither player broke serve in the first two sets, but Fritz
finally pulled away by winning the last four games of the match.
"I needed to serve well the whole time; I knew that," Fritz
said. "It was frustrating throughout the match when so many
points I was one away from break point. So many times at 15-30,
love-30 when I was returning, I got myself in the points and
kept losing the points. I just tried to stay patient and not get
frustrated -- and then I capitalized when I got the chances."
Fritz said of going from being the lowest-ranked player in the
field to reaching the final four: "It is huge. From possibly not
even qualifying to now be in the semis feels great. I felt like
I was going to play well here. I feel that I always play my best
tennis against the best players."
Nadal also took advantage of effective serving in his victory.
He finished with a 16-4 edge in aces and never dropped his
serve, saving two break points. Nadal had twice as many winners
as Ruud recorded (38-19) and fewer unforced errors (18-16).
Nitto ATP Finals group standings
Green Group match record (set record, game record)
1. Casper Ruud 2-1 (4-3, 40-39)
2. Taylor Fritz 2-1 (5-3, 47-39)
3. Felix Auger-Aliassime 1-2 (3-4, 37-39)
4. Rafael Nadal 1-2 (2-4, 28-35)
Red Group match record (set record, game record)
1. Novak Djokovic 2-0 (4-0, 25-15)
2. Stefanos Tsitsipas 1-1 (2-3, 29-29)
3. Andrey Rublev 1-1 (2-3, 24-28)
4. Daniil Medvedev 0-2 (2-4, 32-38)
--Field Level Media
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