A shocking first-round loss in last month’s indoor Paris Masters 1000 resulted in many analysts and fans not displaying any faith in Taylor Fritz’s ability to have a significant impact in the Nitto ATP Finals 2024. But Fritz has proved his doubters wrong by reaching the final of the year-end event and is now rewarded with a lucrative $2.2 million paycheck. But he will more importantly cherish a jump up to the #4 spot in the live ATP rankings.
With the virtue of winning two group stage matches – Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur – and defeating Alexander Zverev in the semifinal, Fritz is the beneficiary of 800 points.
Fritz, who was trailing Medvedev by 530 points before the event began, now surpasses the Russian player to reach a new career high of World No.4.
An enthusiast discovered that this feat could have a huge implication on the Californian’s chances to make a deep run in the upcoming Australian Open 2025. All four Grand Slam champions — Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Novak Djokovic — currently in the top 10 of the rankings, could end up being on the same side of the draw.
There’s a possibility that all 4 of Sinner, Alcaraz, Djokovic and Medvedev end up on the same side of the draw.
— Shuhaib (@MoShuhaib) November 16, 2024
If the draw was to pan out this way, Fritz’s possible opponent in the semifinal could be #2 Zverev. And a 4-1 H2H record against the German star in 2024 will result in Fritz being the favorite before entering the matchup.
The 27-year-old vows to become a better player in 2025. Thus, he’d like to set his sights higher than a final appearance in Melbourne. Instead, he’ll be determined to win it all.
Fritz “belongs” in the top five
Taylor Fritz is extremely pleased with the performance he’s had in 2024, particularly regaining his spot in the top five of the ATP rankings after almost 17 months.
“Back then I was five, but I didn’t feel like I was five. Now I’m ranked where I’m at. I feel like I belong. It’s a different feeling. It’s been a great year. That gives me a lot of confidence to have that belief. That’s a huge part of having the big results,” Fritz said in a press conference.
For Fritz, 2024 was a successful year. However, he has his eyes set on fulfilling a bigger goal – lifting a Grand Slam trophy. To achieve this accomplishment, there are a few things Fritz is keen on improving in his game.
“I definitely need to get more explosive and quicker in the first step. If I can just get a little quicker off the split step, it will help my return of serve a lot. If I can just put myself in slightly better chances to break serve, I think that’s going to be a huge improvement… Something that got exposed today is when the balls got pretty worn out, I was struggling to generate any power with my backhand,” Fritz said.
Fans of the American No.1 will next see him lead his nation in the Davis Cup quarterfinal fixture against Australia on 21st November.
