TURIN, Italy: Taylor Fritz is starting to make reaching big finals a habit. He feels like he belongs among the very best players in tennis, too.
The American followed his runner-up finish at the US Open by beating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (3) on Saturday to play for the trophy at the ATP Finals.
“I have believed that I belong, that I’m one of the best players,” Fritz said. “It’s not results-based. It’s more I can feel how I’m playing. This week is huge.”
In Sunday’s final, Fritz will face top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the player he lost to in the US Open final. Sinner also beat Fritz in straight sets in the group stage this week.
Sinner advanced with a rapid 6-1, 6-2 win over Casper Ruud.
Fritz became the first American finalist since James Blake lost the 2006 final to Roger Federer. The last American to win the elite eight-man event was Pete Sampras, who beat Andre Agassi in 1999.
“I trust my game and I trust my level and I don’t feel nearly as uncomfortable in these situations anymore because I’ve been playing the top guys at big events a lot lately,” Fritz said. “I’m getting more comfortable in the moment. I’m really, really confident in my game.”
Fritz upbeat after loss to Sinner
Fritz came away encouraged from his 6-4, 6-4 loss to Sinner on Tuesday.
“I felt much more comfortable from the baseline. ... I had chances to break him in both sets,” Fritz said. “He had an equal amount of chances, and he took his. He played the big points better than I did. It didn’t feel anywhere near as one-sided as the Open.”
Sinner noted that Fritz “played a great match.”
“The difference was just a few points. Tomorrow will be very similar. ... But finals are always different than group matches.”
Fritz trying to match Gauff
If Fritz wins the trophy, it will mark an American sweep of the season-ending events after Coco Gauff won the WTA Finals last week.
Fritz’s run in New York made him the first American man to reach a Grand Slam singles final in 15 years. He’s playing at the ATP Finals for the second time. On debut two years ago, he beat Rafael Nadal in his opener and made it to the semifinals, losing to Novak Djokovic.
“It’s awesome to come back and already go a step further,” Fritz said. “I’m all about always trying to do better than the year before.”
At the start of the week, Fritz told The Associated Press his “career has always been a very steady progression and just improving a little bit each year.”
Fritz has Zverev’s number
It was Fritz’s fourth consecutive victory over Zverev, who replaced Carlos Alcaraz at No. 2 in the rankings this week.
“He’s an uncomfortable player for me.” Zverev said. “It’s no secret.”
Fritz also beat Zverev at Wimbledon and the US Open, plus the Laver Cup.
Fritz will finish year at career high
Fritz was already assured of finishing the year in the top five for the first time and he’ll rise to a career-high No. 4 on Monday.
Zverev has seen Fritz’s improvement up close — especially on one key stroke: “His forehand used to break down quite a lot. ... I feel like the ratio is a lot more toward winners now.”
It was a matchup of big servers between the 6-foot-5 (1.96-meter) Fritz and the 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) Zverev, and when Fritz broke Zverev for 4-2 in the first set, it marked the first time that Zverev lost a service game in four matches in Turin.
Eventually, though, the match turned into a physical duel from the baseline. Fritz rallied from 0-40 and held his serve for 3-2 in the third after a nine-minute game full of long rallies – winning one such exchange that lasted 30 strokes.
Fritz was then under pressure one service game after another but somehow managed to keep holding.
Fritz got ahead early in the tiebreaker and finished Zverev off with an audacious inside-out forehand winner on his first match point.
Fritz finished with 15 aces to Zverev’s 10 in a match that last 2 hours, 20 minutes.
“I felt like statistically and shot-wise, my level maybe was even higher than his until the important moments. That’s where I kind of blew it,” Zverev said. “This one will hurt more than the other few.”
Doping case hangs over Sinner
Sinner is playing at home for the first time since it was announced before his US Open title that he tested positive in two separate drug tests this year.
A decision to clear Sinner of wrongdoing was appealed by the World Anti-Doping Agency in September and a final ruling in the case is expected next year.
Last year, Sinner lost the final to Djokovic, who withdrew injured this year.
US Open runner-up Fritz back in another big final and faces Sinner again for ATP Finals crown
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US Open runner-up Fritz back in another big final and faces Sinner again for ATP Finals crown
- In Sunday’s final, Fritz will face top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the player he lost to in the US Open final
Chelsea agree deal to sign English winger Gittens from Dortmund
The agreement was made at Fort Lauderdale, with contractual details still to be settled
“Jamie Gittens’s career is an example of the development of top talents at Borussia,” Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken said
LONDON: Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign English winger Jamie Gittens from Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga club said on Thursday, with the 20-year-old set to sign a seven-year contract in a move reportedly worth 55 million pounds ($75.02 million).
The clubs are currently in the United States for the Club World Cup, where they have both reached the quarter-final stage, and the agreement was made at Fort Lauderdale, with contractual details still to be settled.
Gittens joined Dortmund as a youth player in 2020 from Manchester City, making his senior debut in 2022, and has made 107 appearances for the German side in all competitions, scoring 17 goals.
“Jamie Gittens’s career is an example of the development of top talents at Borussia,” Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken said in a club statement.
“We discovered Jamie very early, practically signed him for free, continuously developed him in our youth performance center, and also offered him playing time at the very highest level with the first team.
“Jamie has repaid the trust placed in him with commitment, performance, and goals.”
Chelsea are looking to strengthen their left wing after they opted not to make Jadon Sancho’s loan deal from Manchester United permanent.
Verstappen refuses to be drawn on future ahead of British GP
- “I am happy where I am,” Verstappen said
- “There are always rumors, but only one who decides and that is me and the team“
SILVERSTONE, UK: Max Verstappen on Thursday refused to be drawn on questions about discussions with Mercedes and exit clauses in his Red Bull contract when he spoke to reporters ahead of this weekend’s British Grand Prix.
Facing a succession of questions about his future, following reports in Italy that he had agreed to join Mercedes next year, the Dutchman was polite, but evasive in his answers, stressing that for him it would be ideal to complete his career with one team — Red Bull.
“I am happy where I am,” he said. “There are always rumors, but only one who decides and that is me and the team. I control my own destiny and I am happy and in control of where I’m at.”
Sky Sport Italia on Wednesday reported that he had agreed to join Mercedes, sparking speculation that he was set to replace arch-rival George Russell, but the Briton earlier stated he was confident of keeping his seat.
He said he expected to confirm his new contract with Mercedes — the team believed to be best prepared for the regulation changes next year — within a few weeks.
“I’ve nothing to add to last week,” said Verstappen. “Of course, other people write stuff and that’s great but it’s not me... Happy with my team? In life, you can always see other things and think, as they say, the grass is greener on the other side.
“But I think it is best to stay calm and up to now we have had success except for some time this season and this can happen and you have to accept it.
“I know what I have and what we can do and that’s fine, but, to be honest, I have nothing to add to last week. I am focussed on the team and to improve.”
Asked if he felt he needed to be in the fastest car to win races and titles, Verstappen said it is “difficult in F1 to be in the fastest car... Who would know that two years ago who will be fastest?
“I don’t focus much on it, I just try to improve my own situation and where we want to be next year. If you chase the fastest car now it may not be the fastest car next year. Sometimes you can luck in and then win four, or five or six titles...”
The 27-year-old shared that being a one-team man was an interesting prospect for him, while stating that he had never been tempted to leave Austrian constructor Red Bull.
“I’m going to say no...” he said on the questioning of ever having felt tempted to take a seat elsewhere in the paddock.
“I don’t want more headlines. It would be ideal to finish my career at Red Bull with one team. That would be something amazing and I am still trying to achieve that.
“We are fighting for podiums now and that’s not too bad!“
Reports suggested Verstappen’s contract contained exit clauses that could be activated if he is not in the top three in the drivers championship at the end of July.
But the four-time world champion bluntly refused to reveal any details about his deal with Red Bull.
“To be honest, I am not speaking about my contract. It’s easier like that,” he said.
From Grand Slam to grand struggle, Krejcikova lives to fight on
- There was zero champion’s polish on show as the Czech creaked her way into the third round
- The pair exchanged errors and breaks of serve throughout
LONDON: Barbora Krejcikova’s Wimbledon defense is still alive — but only just. The Czech squeezed past American Caroline Dolehide 6-4 3-6 6-2 in a second-round tussle that was all grind and no grandeur.
There was zero champion’s polish on show as the Czech creaked her way into the third round, surviving a match as scrappy as a Henman Hill picnic after a seagull raid.
“A huge relief,” she said afterwards to polite applause from the crowd. “Really up and down points, turning one way and the other ... I am so grateful I can keep going.”
Court Two spectators, many blissfully unaware that they were watching the reigning champion, might be forgiven — Krejcikova herself barely looked the part.
A season dogged by back and thigh niggles has left the 29-year-old short of sharpness, and her patchy 4-3 record for the season coming in was on full display in a match strewn with errors.
Spraying foreheads wide of their mark and dumping backhands into the net, nothing suggested a twice Grand Slam champion was holding court.
At times the contest resembled less a Grand Slam match and more a practice session between two very rusty players — Krejcikova produced 39 unforced errors, while Dolehide got fewer than half her first serves in all match.
The pair exchanged errors and breaks of serve throughout — Dolehide trying to power her way into the contest while Krejcikova sought to claw her way to victory on the back of slow, sliced forehands whispering back to a gentler age.
Scarcely can a champion have produced such a lukewarm performance on the Grand Slam stage but it would be fair to say the Czech blows hot and cold on the tennis court.
French Open champion in 2021, she has followed that title run with three first-round defeats and one second round showing at Roland Garros in the years since.
Her form can read like a nursery rhyme. When she’s good, she’s very, very good — Grand Slam good. But when the gears don’t quite catch, when timing slips or confidence wavers, she can unravel just as spectacularly.
As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 19th-century American poet and nursery rhyme writer, had it: when she is good, she is very, very good — but when she is bad, she is horrid.
Still, the 17th seed did just enough to scrape through to gentle applause and a sterner test ahead: 10th seed Emma Navarro, who won’t be quite so generous. (Reporting by Ossian Shine; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris)
US fans can learn from unbelievable Guatemala supporters, Pochettino says
- “The fans of Guatemala, I need to say, wow, unbelievable. It was like, to play there,” Pochettino told reporters
- “An unbelievable energy. That is football, that is football”
MEXICO: United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said Wednesday’s 2-1 win over Guatemala in the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinals felt like a game on the road, adding that the spirit of the opposing fans was something American supporters could learn from.
Over 22,000 spectators attended the match in St. Louis and the majority were Guatemala supporters, loudly backing their team throughout the game even as Diego Luna’s early brace helped the US reach the final, where they face Mexico on Sunday.
“The fans of Guatemala, I need to say, wow, unbelievable. It was like, to play there. And that was good for our players because it was an atmosphere we didn’t expect,” former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea manager Pochettino told reporters.
Argentine Pochettino said he hoped to see the same passion from American fans when the World Cup takes place in the US next year.
“An unbelievable energy. That is football, that is football. When we say, the connection between the team and the fans, that’s the connection we’d like to see at the World Cup. The connection that makes you fly,” he said.
“When we talk about culture, that is culture ... to see (Guatemala), how they fight, how the fans behave, that is an important thing that we need to learn in this country.”
Pochettino said that in many countries, soccer matches were seen as much more than sporting spectacles.
“In a different country, you play (to) survive. You play for food. You play for pride ... it’s not to enjoy, go home and laugh, that’s it,” he said.
“The moment that we, this roster, start to live in this way, I think we have big room to improve.”
Motor racing-Mayer set to stand against Ben Sulayem for FIA presidency
- Mayer would announce on Friday he was standing against Ben Sulayem
- A press conference was called at a venue outside the Silverstone circuit
SILVERSTONE, England: Mohammed Ben Sulayem will face a challenge to his bid for re-election as president of the FIA, motorsport’s world governing body, after a rival candidate emerged on Thursday.
The BBC reported American Tim Mayer, a former Formula One steward and son of former McLaren principal Teddy Mayer, would announce on Friday he was standing against Ben Sulayem.
A press conference was called at a venue outside the Silverstone circuit ahead of British Grand Prix practice.
Ben Sulayem, an Emirati, is scheduled to attend the race which marks the midpoint in the Formula One season. He has already announced he is seeking a second term.
The FIA is the governing body for F1, the world rally championship and Formula E among other series.
