Turin (Italy), Nov 13 (IANS) Australia’s Alex de Minaur defeated American Taylor Fritz in a group match to keep alive his chances of advancing in the ATP Finals. De Minaur defeated Fritz 7-6(3), 6-3 to end the American’s hopes in the Jimmy Connors group, though his own chances now depend on other results in the group.

De Minaur had suffered a heartbreaking three-set defeat to Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday night and knew he would have to overcome Fritz in straight sets if he were to have any chance of reaching the semifinals at the prestigious year-end event.

The Australian achieved his part of the bargain and will now need World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz to beat Musetti to ensure he secures a semifinal spot.

In an impressive, attacking display, de Minaur dominated against a nervy Fritz to end the round-robin stage holding a 1-2 record. If Alcaraz, who has now qualified, beats Musetti later on Thursday, de Minaur will join the Spaniard in the semifinals. Musetti will qualify for the last-four stage with a victory against Alcaraz. Last year’s finalist, Fritz, also went 1-2 in the round-robin phase but is out.

“I have dealt with a fair bit of heartbreak recently, so it was good to finally get a win here in Turin,” said de Minaur after earning his first Top 10 win of the season outside team events. “I have worked really hard, so it was good to get some positive feedback or a positive reward for the hard work, so I am very happy with the performance.”

The seventh seed de Minaur had the chance to seal victory on Fritz’s serve at 2-5 when he moved to match point. The American held, but unlike on Tuesday night against Musetti, De Minaur kept his nerve on serve to triumph. Following his win, he raised his fist in celebration to the crowd, a stark contrast to the scenes just 40 hours earlier in the Inalpi Arena.

Fritz had fond memories of Turin, having reached the final last season. The sixth seed downed Musetti in his opening match at this year’s event before he lost to Alcaraz in three sets. The 28-year-old struggled throughout the one-hour, 35-minute clash against de Minaur and failed to properly recover after losing his serve early on. Fritz committed 33 unforced errors and won just 67 per cent of his first-serve points, lower than the 84 per cent he won against Musetti and 71 per cent against Alcaraz.

Fritz ends the season holding a 53-23 record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index. The American won titles on grass in Eastbourne and Stuttgart.

–IANS

bsk/