Alex de Minaur falls to Taylor Fritz, yet paves way for Jannik Sinner's qualification

Taylor Fritz fought hard against Alex de Minaur in his last group stage match. The American's battle, made challenging by the Australian, ultimately benefited Jannik Sinner, as the Italian secured a semi-final spot. Alex de Minaur, who entered his final group stage match without winning a single set, managed to overcome Fritz in the opening set in Turin. His surge against the American resulted in Sinner qualifying in first place from the Ilie Nastase Group. Meanwhile, Fritz, who faced Sinner in the US Open final earlier this year, improved his chances of advancing to the semi-finals over Daniil Medvedev.

ATP Finals: Taylor Fritz beats Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner cruises into semi-finals

Jannik Sinner will take on Daniil Medvedev in the last match of the Ilie Nastase group with an assurance of a spot in the knockouts. Sinner, who has won his previous two matches against de Minaur and Fritz respectively, cemented his place among the last four on the back of Minaur's redemption in Turin. The Australian, who is playing his maiden season at the ATP Finals, scripted his best performance of the week. Showing unmatched resilience in long, thrilling rallies, de Minaur shot 12 winners to put Fritz under pressure in the first set. Fritz's seven winners stood no chance against de Minaur's count as the Australian claimed the first set 7-5.

Fritz, known for his powerful serve, was kept fairly restrained by de Minaur as it took the American a set and six games to hit his first ace of the match. However, that ace set Fritz in rhythm as he overcame a break point at 40/Ad to hold serve. Fritz, then capitalized on his rhythm in the 10th game, breaking De Minaur to seal the second set. With the momentum firmly in his favor by then, Fritz stepped up his game in the decider. A break of De Minaur's serve for a 3-1 lead set things straight as Fritz closed out the match at 5-3.

While this match and de Minaur's rare resurgence in Turin landed Sinner in the knockouts, Taylor Fritz now has his eyes set on the Sinner vs Medvedev clash. If Daniil Medvedev manages to defeat the Italian in straight sets, he would edge Fritz out in the race to qualify as the second contender from the Ilie Nastase Group. However, if Sinner, who is in peak form at his home tournament, wins even a single set against the Russian, Medvedev will join de Minaur in being eliminated from the competition. Fritz will need to count on his US Open opponent to keep alive his hopes of winning the ATP Finals title.