Fritz beats Nadal at ATP Finals; Ruud downs Auger-Aliassime

TURIN, Italy: Rafael Nadal’s bid to win one of the few titles missing from his glittering career started poorly as he was beaten in straight sets by eighth-seeded Taylor Fritz in their opening match at the ATP Finals on Sunday. After a close-fought opening set, Fritz dominated the second as the American secured a 7-6 (3), 6-1 victory over the top-seeded Nadal. “It feels great.

I felt like coming out first match, especially for my hopes of getting out of the group, it was going to be really important,” Fritz said. “I came out and played a great match, and I couldn’t be happier.” Fritz strengthened his grip on the match when he broke Nadal’s serve in the fourth game of the second set. Nadal fought valiantly to stay in the match and managed to save four break points in the sixth game but Fritz prevailed at the fifth time of asking to leave him serving for the match.

He closed it out when the Spaniard sent a forehand long. It was only Nadal’s second singles match since the US Open as he has struggled with injuries and also became a father for the first time in October. Nadal has never won the ATP Finals title in 10 attempts.

He finished runner-up in 2010 and 2013. Earlier, third-seeded Casper Ruud, who lost in the semifinals last year, eased to a straight-set victory over tournament debutant Felix Auger-Aliassime in the other Green Group match. The match was largely dominated by serving and a solitary break in the seventh game of the second set proved enough for the Norwegian player to secure a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over the fifth-seeded Canadian.