De Minaur crashes out of ATP Finals as Fritz advances

Alex de Minaur was eliminated from the 2024 ATP Finals in Turin on Friday morning (AEDT), with Taylor Fritz rallying from a set down to beat the Australian tennis star.

It was an even contest from the get-go, with de Minaur taking the first set 7-5 after three breaks of serve in the space of five games.

That set included a monster 19-shot rally, which Fritz won, that was described as the “point of the week” by television pundits.

The second set was also close, with the American clinching the sole break of serve in the 10th game to win it 6-4 and square the ledger.

That took them into the first deciding set of the tournament, where Fritz upped the ante and powered to a 6-3 result to seal the deal.

While de Minaur finished bottom of the Ilie Nastase Group with a 0-3 record, his conqueror ended up at 2-1 and would not learn his fate until the conclusion of Jannik Sinner’s clash with Daniil Medvedev later in the day.

If Medvedev won that match in straight sets, he would advance to semi-finals; but if the Russian failed to do so, Fritz would progress instead.

As it panned out, Sinner won 6-3, 6-4 to secure top spot in the group and ensure Fritz’s place in the last four.

The round-robin phase in Turin concludes on Saturday morning with last two matches of the John Newcombe Group.

Online bookmakers have Carlos Alcaraz (-140.85) as a slight favourite for his clash with the unbeaten Alexander Zverev (+105), while the winless Andrey Rublev (-200) is tipped to knock out Casper Ruud (+152).

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