Key events
Alcaraz 3-4 Fritz* A relatively quiet game, Fritz holding to 15, and both men are settled into comfortable holds.
*Alcaraz 3-3 Fritz Alcaraz spends the first bit of the sit-down complaining to the umpire about something; Fritz will love to see it. And he’ll also love to see a forehand hit the net when behind in the first point, but Alcaraz is quickly in to restore parity and an error gives him 30-15. A drop-lob combo move follows, the equivalent of of Dhalsim’s slide kick into yoga flame, and a service winner secures the hold.
Alcaraz 2-3 Fritz* I almost feel bad rinsing Fritz’s rig, but he’s driven me to it. But back with the actual tennis, Alcaraz ushers a backhand winner down the line to make 30-all only to fractionally overhit a return, and an ace down the T does the rest. Alcaraz is vexed, and rightly so: how dare he let a game finish in less than 27 minutes.
Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
*Alcaraz 2-2 Fritz Fritz swipes a forehand long but then, when he anticipates Alcaraz, what should’ve been a clean-up is in fact a tee-up, allowing a backhand winner for 15-all. Then, at 30-15, he reads the drop and next volley, before a loopy forehand hits one corner then a backhand into the opposite one raises break-back point; this is more or less as well as Fritz can play but, offered a look at a second serve, he nets his return with the ball there for him; deuce. Alcaraz, though, goes for too much down the line, donating advantage, we’ve been going nearly half an hour for our three-and-a-bit games … and Fritz nails a backhand, keeps up the pressure, and secures the break back! This is the best contest I’ve seen, in any sport, for a while.
Alcaraz 2-1 Fritz* One of the many things i love about watching Alcaraz is the intellectual, spiritual challenge of predicting what shot he’s going to play – it’s almost like playing Tetris, testing the boundaries of geometry. And the pressure tells on Fritz, who’s soon down 15-40 before another drop secures the break; he’s forcing Alcaraz to play brilliantly, if that’s any consolation.
*Alcaraz 1-1 Fritz The last thing Fritz will want is for Alcraraz to rush through an easy hold and he makes 0-15, then attacks a second serve with a backhand down the line, as we suggested he should, for 0-30. And, though Alcaraz halves his arrears, Faritz runs around his forehand to clout down the line, raising two break points; the first disappears with an overhit forehand, the second with a service winner. Up advantage, though, Alcaraz errs, and this is already ridiculously enjoyable, Fritz taking control of the next rally by landing a forehand on to the baseline and seeing it home with backhands down the line to earn a third break point. And this time he looks ready to take it, racing to net when a drop sits up … but Alcaraz reads him and puts away the volley! The anticipation there was spooky, and there’s something about watching him play that’s almost wrong, stuff that shouldn’t be possible happening with such regularity it feels unreal, or staged. And that’s exactly the next point, a no-look drop, discharged with Fritz expecting a booming cross-court shot, followed up with a perfectly disguised and perfect lob; from there, Alcaraz sees out the hold, and these two games have been of absurdly high standard.
Alcaraz 0-1 Fritz* (denotes server) A forehand clouted wide gives Alcaraz 0-15 … but that’s nothing a service winner can’t solve. At 30-15, though, a tame forehand into the net puts him under immediate pressure … but that’s nothing an ace can’t serve. He quickly makes 40-30, too, but a backhand winner sizzles past him cross, and another netted forehand means Alcaraz has advantage. Fritz looks nervous, reflecting how well he knows he’s playing: this is is his time. He saves break point with a forehand winner, but is soon down advantage again, totally dominated in the next rally. Also again, though, he restores deuce, and this time an ace raises game point … only to be followed by a double. On the one hand, this isn’t the game Fritz had in mind when he opted to serve but, on the other, if he can see out the tension and hold, it’ll fortify him with confidence. Meantime, though, an ace earns another advantage, but again, he can’t see it out; what a start to the match this is. AND HAVE A LOOK! Again up advantage and this tome at the net with a simple putaway there for him, Fritz picks out Alcaraz who hoists a lob, then deals with the tweener sent at him in riposte via volley. That was another terrific exchange, was, restoring deuce, but Fritz again makes his ad, this time punishing down an ace to secure a nine-minute hold. MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE.
Fritz has been getting closer to a big breakthrough – he made last year’s US Open final, beating Alexander Zverev en route, and he gave Alcaraz trouble in the semis at this year’s Wimbledon. And though he’s yet to beat one of the greats on the big occasion, he’ll feel he’s in good enough for so to do. He has the balls and is preparing to serve. Ready … play.
Out comes Fritz, followed by Alcaraz. The crowds so far have been great, and who doesn’t want to spend a weekday afternoon enjoying genius?
“It’s pretty fast,” Fritz said of the court after his first match, also noting that there’s some altitude, so the ball flies through the air quicker, aspects which help his flat backhand. If he hits it cross-court, he might find it coming back even harder, but if he can sent it down the line, it might work well for him.
If Alcaraz wins today, he’ll be one win against Musetti away from ending the year as world no 1. If he loses, a win in his final match will leave Sinner needing him to lose the semi, while winning the title as an undefeated champion; if loses both matches, Sinner will merely need to lift the trophy. Which would be pretty likely, given every tournament both have entered this season, one has won.
The problem Fritz has is he too has weaknesses. I’d expect Alcaraz to target his backhand while putting him on the bike, moving him side to side and into the net so he can’t plant feet and thwack.
So how does Fritz win today? Well, patience is important: Alcaraz isn’t metronomic like Sinner, and loses his serve more often; Fritz needn’t force things, but when the opportunities arise, he has to be ready. Usually, he’d want to shorten points, but in this one he may hope to lengthen them, hitting full and straight to deny angles and force Alcaraz to seek winners.
Otherwise, he has to attack the serve – first and second – and the backhand, then hope for an off-day.
Alcaraz leads Fritz 4-1 in the head-to-head … but Fritz’s one win came not that long ago, in September, and it was also on an indoor hard court. I guess we might say it came two weeks after the US Open final, so chances are, its champion has been more focused, but if helps convince Fritz he can win this afternoon, it doesn’t matter.
Preamble
It’s not easy being a tenniser. To be fit enough to chase like mad for five hours, delivering skills that demand precision and power, while living life on the road away from family and friends, is a confronting existence.
The reward, though, for those at the top, is occasions such as this – and yet, for Taylor Fritz, they come freighted with frustration: he’s close to the top of the game, so close he can taste the glory, and yet it looks unlikely ever to be his. He played very nicely indeed in beating Lorenzo Musetti on Sunday, but would that level be enough to see off Carlos Alcaraz? Probably not.
And yet. Like Felix Auger-Aliassime last evening, if he serves well, he can stick in sets, and if he can stick in sets, he can reduce them to a tiebreak point here and there, and if he can reduce them to a tiebreak point here and there, if he produces his best tennis during them, or if Alcaraz errs, that’s a lot of ifs, but he can get this done. Perhaps.
Either way, though, it’s going to be a lot of fun watching him try, just as it’s always a lot of fun watching Alcaraz watching people try. And if there’s a better way of spending a Tuesday afternoon, I’m yet to discover it.
Play: 1pm GMT
