Stockholm, Nov 14 (IANS) American star Taylor Fritz ended his season in style on Saturday at the Stockholm Open ATP 250 event, where he clawed past first-time tour-level finalist Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3) in Stockholm.
In a tight match, neither player faced a break point in the final set, with Fritz coming out on top of a tense third-set tie-break to capture his second trophy of the year after two hours and 14 minutes.
“It was a stressful match,” Fritz said. “I came out and was playing really well but then let some opportunities slip. He played a good game, a good defensive game, and I made a couple of mistakes. He was playing well, has a big serve, and it kind of changed the match. I had a hard time breaking after that, and it turned into a really tight match.”
Fritz, a champion at the ATP 500 event in Washington earlier this year, has now won multiple tour-level titles for five consecutive seasons. The 29-year-old is up to No. 9 in the ATP Live Rankings and is guaranteed to finish the year inside the Top-10 for the fifth straight season.
Last week in Paris, Fritz was just one point away from defeating Carlos Alcaraz and therefore qualifying for the ATP Finals. The American is pleased with how he bounced back from that disappointment this week.
“It is really big for me to deal with what I dealt with in Paris,” Fritz said. “I wanted to go home so bad, but I knew I would feel better coming here. I am glad I came here and made the most of it.”
Fritz was making his fourth appearance in Stockholm and first since 2021. The American dispatched Cameron Norrie and Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets to advance to the final. Fritz is 46-22 on the year, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.
Fritz is also now a 12-time tour-level champion, but Saturday’s victory was his first indoors.
“I have lost a lot of indoor finals, but at the same time I didn’t look too much into it, because when I won Tokyo, it was pretty much indoors as the roof was closed a lot,” Fritz said on winning a title indoors. “It feels good to get that one now. All that is left is the clay title.”
–IANS
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