ATP Finals

[stroke]

Fritz played about as well as anyone I have ever seen in losing in 2 sets. Huge crowds for this tournament.

[stotty]

The last game summed it up pretty well. Unless Taylor gets that first in, he struggles to win points behind his second. Awesome ball-striking from Sinner in the last game of the match...that open stance backhand down the line pivoted the momentum completely.

[stroke]

The last game summed it up pretty well. Unless Taylor gets that first in, he struggles to win points behind his second. Awesome ball-striking from Sinner in the last game of the match...that open stance backhand down the line pivoted the momentum completely.

It did, but the ball striking by both players off both sides was something. I don't think any player in the world could have gone toe to toe with an in form Sinner in these conditions like that, other than Alcaraz.

[jimlosaltos]

Here's a pretty amazing stat on Jannik Sinner from ATP/Craig O'Shannessy.

Only one player on the ATP has a winning record in matches where he lost the first set this year.
Historically, Rod Laver is the only player not to have a losing career record from down a set -- he won 50% of those matches.


Past 52 weeks. Winning The Match After Losing The First Set

J. Sinner	78.6%	11-3
A. Zverev	50.0%	18-18
C. Alcaraz	47.1%	8-9
A. De Minaur	46.2%	12-14
H. Medjedovic	45.5%	5-6
H. Hurkacz	41.7%	10-14
B. Shelton	40.6%	13-19
J. Shang	40.0%	6-9
D. Medvedev	38.5%	10-16
T. Paul	36.8%	7-12

[stroke]

That is something. Sinner seems completely unflappable out there.

[stotty]

That is something. Sinner seems completely unflappable out there.

He's the best player by a mile at the moment. Looks unstoppable.

[stroke]

He's the best player by a mile at the moment. Looks unstoppable.

He is pretty much leading the "shot quality" insights off both sides. It sure would have been interesting to see how those numbers looked during the reign of the big 3.

[stroke]

Sinner, as Stotty pointed out as the best player in the draw thus far, takes out Med in 2. Med to me was definitely pressing, knowing he had to go outside his comfort zone and hit more aggressively than he would like. This tournament seems to be the purest test of who is just the best tennis player, being indoors and of course the format. Thus far, Sinner clearly the best, to me followed by Fritz and Zverev. No surprise that Novak and Roger are the all time leaders in titles here. Nadal, a bit surprisingly to me, never won this tournament. That says a lot.

[jimlosaltos]

Zverev puts on a serving display in beating Alcaraz today, putting the Spaniards chances at the single-elimination round at risk.

Zverev first serve: Max 144, Ave 136 MPH, no breaks, and he won the same percentage on his second serve that Carlos did on his first -- 67%.

Carlos won the French and Wimbledon but lost to 12 players this year, incl Boric de Zanderschlup ranked 74. The gap behind Sinner grows.

[stroke]

Zverev is a solid betting favorite over Frtiz. Fritz is being a bit underrated to me on that one. I would have them pretty even. Sinner a huge favorite over Ruud.

[stotty]

It says something, not sure what, that Bad Boy Ille Nastasse has a "Group" named after him in the ATP Tour Finals <g>.

Forgive the crassness but the line delivered by John Huston's character Noah Cross in Chinatown comes to mind: Noah Cross : Of course I'm respectable. I'm old! Politicians, ugly buildings and whores all get respectable if they last long enough.

Yes, strange decision to name the group after Nastase in this day and age. He's a bad boy, misogynist, and racist all rolled into one. He's good fun, though. I met him briefly once.

[stroke]

Fritz up 5-2 first set. Thus far in match, the Shot Quality on the Fritz forehand is reported at 9.9. Never seen one that high.

[stotty]

Yes, never seen him hit his forehand better. Great first set by Fritz with huge hitting and serving. Looks real confident too at the moment.

[stotty]

Gutsy performance from Taylor in the end. Sometimes matches come down to who's got the bigger balls.

I'm glad Taylor won. He is a great example of someone who has improved by gradually inching himself along. I think he''l meet his maker with Sinner, however. I certainly can’t see Ruud beating Sinner at this point.

[jimlosaltos]

Gutsy performance from Taylor in the end. Sometimes matches come down to who's got the bigger balls.

I'm glad Taylor won. He is a great example of someone who has improved by gradually inching himself along. I think he''l meet his maker with Sinner, however. I certainly can’t see Ruud beating Sinner at this point.

ATP: "Fritz is the first American to finish the season inside the Top 5 since Blake in 2006 and will rise to a career-high No. 4 on Monday if Casper Ruud does not win the title in northern Italy."

Both players won an identical 97 points. Difference was Zverev making a trio of unforced errors in the tiebreak. In the third set, both players saved serve in games where they faced 3 match points. Zverev won 30/50 points played on both players combined second serves.

Still a good year for Zverev who finished the year at number 2 in the world. ATP: "Two-time champion Zverev was competing in his 90th match of the season, the most of any player since David Ferrer played 91 times in 2012. The 27-year-old was trying to become the first player since Andy Murray (78) in 2016 to earn 70 match wins on the season.