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In a matter of a couple of days, Taylor Fritz went from the disappointment of losing in the second round of the Paris Masters, which came as a big blow to his ATP Finals hopes, to the joy of making the ATP Finals as the first alternate after World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal. His first-ever year-end championship qualification might have been a stroke of luck, but Fritz aims to cash in on the opportunity and believes he can win the title.
Fritz is aware of the many challenges he faces in the 2022 ATP Finals over the next week, in the form of his fellow top-ranked players, and the fact that they are all contenders for the title. But being one of those top players at the year-end championships gives him the confidence to go all the way as well.
During a recent interview with the ATP, Fritz declared his intentions in his maiden ATP Finals.
“To win [is my goal]. I think what makes all the people here who they are is everyone goes into the event believing they can win," Taylor Fritz said, adding, "I obviously want to have a good showing, but like everyone else, I’m here to win the event."
Fritz started the 2022 season with the aim of clinching a top 10 rankings spot and was not even thinking about qualifying for the year-end championships. After a strong first few months of the season, where he also won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, the American No. 1 began to realistically dream of a spot in the Finals in Turin.
"When I started the year, my initial goal was Top 10. After how the year started, I was like, ‘I’m definitely in a good position to make it here [Turin]’. It became a goal of mine, I’m excited to be here," Fritz stated.
"Playing Rafa is a big deal" - Taylor Fritz on opening his ATP Finals 2022 campaign against Rafael Nadal
Taylor Fritz will start his 2022 ATP Finals campaign with a round-robin match against top seed Rafael Nadal on Sunday night. Two of Fritz's most intense and memorable matches this season came against Nadal. While the first of those encounters ended with him winning the Indian Wells title, the second one ended in heartbreak after a loss in a five-set epic Wimbledon quarterfinal.
Fritz opened up about the highs and lows of facing Nadal this season and reflected on facing him in the Finals.
"Playing Rafa is a big deal," Taylor Fritz said. "The match we had at Wimbledon was very close. Between the two matches we’ve played, there were highs [after Indian Wells] and lows [following Wimbledon]."
Fritz has an impressive 43-19 win-loss record on tour this season and has won three of his four career ATP titles in 2022. Aside from Indian Wells, he also won the ATP 250 and ATP 500 titles in Eastbourne and Tokyo, respectively.
