Taylor Fritz uses speedy surface and a service attack to win ATP Finals debut over Rafael Nadal

“A lot of serving and returning.”

That’s what Taylor Fritz said he expected from his opening match against Rafael Nadal at the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, on Sunday.

Serving and returning are part of every tennis match, of course; what Fritz meant was that he didn’t expect that there would be a whole lot of anything else in this one. Why?

“It’s a fast indoor hard court,” Fritz said matter-of-factly, as if nothing else needed to be said.

He was right. The court and the conditions in Turin played an outsized role in this match. And they played it in favor of Fritz, who recorded his second win of 2022 over Nadal, 7-6 (3), 6-1. While Rafa kept the first set close, Fritz had a clear edge in just about every category by the night’s end. He hit five more winners (23) and made two fewer errors (2) than Nadal. He didn’t face a break point, while Rafa faced nine. And he won 60 percent of his return points on Nadal’s second serve; that was nearly 40 percentage points higher than Rafa.

Fritz won the battle of the serves and returns, the way he thought, but he also won the battle once the rallies began, which isn’t something many players can say when they face Nadal. Again, he credited the court for a little extra acceleration, especially on his backhand side.

“For me, fast is good for my serve and it’s good for my backhand,” Fritz said. “On a court like this, I can lean on my backhand and hit it deep cross to Rafa’s forehand and it makes it a bit tougher for him to step in and crush it…I’d say that’s where it helps me the most on the ground against him.”

Still, the match was very much in the balance after 12 games. The key point of the first set came at 3-2 in the tiebreaker. Fritz had won the first three points, but Nadal had bounced back to take the next two. Then Fritz fired a forehand straight down the middle; Rafa was a little late on it, and he put a backhand into the net. That little bit of extra ground-stroke pace was the difference. Fritz ran out the tiebreaker, and dominated the second set.

As he had against another American, Tommy Paul, in Paris two weeks ago, Nadal fought against the tide of the rallies for as long as he could, before they finally broke over him. Both times, he lost 6-1 final sets. This time, though, he did offer some resistance near the end. Serving at 1-3 in the second set, he saved three break points before double faulting on the fourth.

If there was a shot that summed up Nadal’s evening, it came in that game. After saving two break points, he had earned a game point of his own; if he could win it, he would stay in touch on the scoreboard and force Fritz to keep holding. Nadal started with a good, bending serve into the ad court, and came forward for what looked to be an easy volley into an open court. The crowd, which pulled for him throughout, sounded ready to burst into applause at the sure winner. Instead, Rafa sent the volley a foot wide of the sideline, and eventually lost his serve.

Age is obviously a factor for the 36-year-old Nadal, but that shot looked like a classic case of rust. He has lamented not just his lack of match play this season, but his lack of practice time with other top players at tournaments. Rafa is finishing up what will surely be one of his most satisfying seasons, but also one of his most frustrating. There may be more frustrations ahead this week.

For Fritz, it’s hard to imagine a better way to make your ATP Finals debut than with a win over one of the Big 3. With this surface under his feet, he may be just getting started.