Follow updates from Tuesday’s tennis action in Turin
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.
