Taylor Fritz edged closer to the ATP Finals semifinals Thursday, rallying from a set down to defeat Alex de Minaur 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
In a thrilling contest in Turin, Fritz eliminated Finals debutant de Minaur, whose set victory unexpectedly sealed Jannik Sinner’s spot in the semifinals.
Sinner now heads into his final Ilie Nastase Group match against Daniil Medvedev, secure in the knowledge that he’s already through to the semifinals. A win will guarantee him the top spot in the group.
Fritz, meanwhile, will join Sinner in the knockout stage as long as the world No. 1 wins at least one set in front of his home fans.
Sinner is hunting his first Finals title after an exceptional season in which he won seven tournaments, including his first Grand Slam victories at the Australian and U.S. Opens.
He lost last year’s final to Novak Djokovic, who withdrew from this year’s tournament due to injury.
Sinner entered the season-ending event already assured of becoming the first Italian to top the ATP end-of-year rankings.
However, he has been dogged by controversy after twice testing positive for traces of the steroid clostebol in March.
He was initially cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency, but at the end of September, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appealed, seeking a ban of up to two years.