Despite his early defeat at the ATP Masters tournament in Paris against the British Jack Draper, the American made it through Taylor Fritz as the fifth player to qualify early for the ATP Finals in Turin.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edited: October 31, 2024, 6:07 p.m
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© Getty Images
One or two spectators in the Accor Arena in Paris-Bercy certainly had to take a closer look to clearly identify Taylor Fritz, who was announced for his match. With his hair completely bleached, the American traveled to the last Masters tournament of the year in the French capital in order to get back on the tour after his participation in the Erste Bank Open in Vienna was canceled.
And at the start, Jack Draper was an opponent that you wouldn’t necessarily want at a tournament. The British left-hander is currently “on fire” and triumphed in impressive fashion at the 500cc event in the Vienna Stadthalle last week. The 26-year-old Fritz had little to blame for his playfulness, but he still had to admit defeat to his 22-year-old opponent 6:7 (6), 6:4, 4:6 after 2:23 hours.
Nevertheless, despite the disappointment of the defeat, Fritz was able to look forward to the reward of the strongest season of his career so far, which came in the form of early qualification for the ATP Finals in Turin. In addition to the two ATP titles in Delray Beach and Eastbourne, he also impressed at the major level. After the two quarter-finals in Melbourne and Paris, he thrilled his home crowd in New York by reaching the final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. Only world number one Yannick Sinner was one size too big.
Before Fritz, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev had already secured their ticket to the final tournament. Even if the first surprise effect with the new hair style seems to have fizzled out, the world number 6. in Turin when the winner’s cup was awarded for his second participation.
