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*Alcaraz 6-6 Fritz Another second serve, another decent return, and a tame forehand wafted long donates Fritz his fifth 0-15 of the set. Alcaraz, though, powers back, a service winner making 30-15 and a forehand winner taking him to within a point of a tiebreak, secured to 30. I\u2019ve not a clue what\u2019s going to happen in the breaker, but I\u2019m certain it\u2019ll be intense.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Alcaraz 5-6 Fritz* Fritz has been the better player in this set and he dismissively wallops an overhead for 30-0, closes out the love hold, and again, Alcaraz must serve to stay in the set.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n *Alcaraz 5-5 Fritz For the fourth time in five goes, Fritz makes 0-15 \u2026 only to overhit a backhand, marginally. A serve out wide then makes 30-15, but a tremendous forehand, down the line to the corner, is backed up with a sliced volley, and the American is two points away from the set. Alcaraz, though, nails a mahoosive serve then clatters a backhand into the opposite corner for 40-30 \u2026 only to stray long on the backhand and hand over deuce. He\u2019s struggling a bit on second serve, just 6\/18 points won, and he offers Fritz a look at another \u2026 making advantage with a backhand ushered down the line. And though he then nets a drop, an ace down the T is followed by another biggun, a backhand into the net securing his hold.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a009.11 EST<\/p>\n Alcaraz 4-5 Fritz* A big return, Alcaraz charges in behind it \u2026 and doesn\u2019t have to play a volley; 0-15. For al the good it does him, a service-winner making 40-15 \u2026 but on the run, he coaxes a backhand winner down the line to give himself a sniff, only for Fritz to quickly secure the hold. The Spaniard must now serve to stay in the best set (of tennis) I\u2019ve seen in I don\u2019t even know how long.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n *Alcaraz 4-4 Fritz A terrific return on to the line hauls Fritz into the first rally and though Alcaraz fights back, this time his drop plops wide, then a hooked forehand is also wide; 0-30. But of course it\u2019s soon 30-all, a drop and overhead pat doing the business \u2026 only for Fritz to unload the suitcase at a forehand, booming it flat and to the corner \u2026 too good! Another break point, another good return \u2026 only for an overhit forehand to ruin it and take us to deuce. Fritz, though, keeps the head, leaping into a backhand return and guiding the ball inside-out \u2026 and into the corner! Naturally, Alcaraz quickly restores deuce, then makes advantage via ace, before unleashing a monstrous serve, backed up with a swing-volley. He\u2019s now saved six break points, but Fritz is giving him all he can handle.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Alcaraz 3-4 Fritz* A relatively quiet game, Fritz holding to 15, and both men are settled into comfortable holds.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n *Alcaraz 3-3 Fritz Alcaraz spends the first bit of the sit-down complaining to the umpire about something; Fritz will love to see it. And he\u2019ll also love to see a forehand hit the net when behind in the first point, but Alcaraz is quickly in to restore parity and an error gives him 30-15. A drop-lob combo move follows, the equivalent of of Dhalsim\u2019s slide kick into yoga flame, and a service winner secures the hold.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a008.56 EST<\/p>\n Alcaraz 2-3 Fritz* I almost feel bad rinsing Fritz\u2019s rig, but he\u2019s driven me to it. But back with the actual tennis, Alcaraz ushers a backhand winner down the line to make 30-all only to fractionally overhit a return, and an ace down the T does the rest. Alcaraz is vexed, and rightly so: how dare he let a game finish in less than 27 minutes.<\/p>\n Photograph: Clive Brunskill\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n *Alcaraz 2-2 Fritz Fritz swipes a forehand long but then, when he anticipates Alcaraz, what should\u2019ve been a clean-up is in fact a tee-up, allowing a backhand winner for 15-all. Then, at 30-15, he reads the drop and next volley, before a loopy forehand hits one corner then a backhand into the opposite one raises break-back point; this is more or less as well as Fritz can play but, offered a look at a second serve, he nets his return with the ball there for him; deuce. Alcaraz, though, goes for too much down the line, donating advantage, we\u2019ve been going nearly half an hour for our three-and-a-bit games \u2026 and Fritz nails a backhand, keeps up the pressure, and secures the break back! This is the best contest I\u2019ve seen, in any sport, for a while.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Alcaraz 2-1 Fritz* One of the many things i love about watching Alcaraz is the intellectual, spiritual challenge of predicting what shot he\u2019s going to play \u2013 it\u2019s almost like playing Tetris, testing the boundaries of geometry. And the pressure tells on Fritz, who\u2019s soon down 15-40 before another drop secures the break; he\u2019s forcing Alcaraz to play brilliantly, if that\u2019s any consolation.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n *Alcaraz 1-1 Fritz The last thing Fritz will want is for Alcraraz to rush through an easy hold and he makes 0-15, then attacks a second serve with a backhand down the line, as we suggested he should, for 0-30. And, though Alcaraz halves his arrears, Faritz runs around his forehand to clout down the line, raising two break points; the first disappears with an overhit forehand, the second with a service winner. Up advantage, though, Alcaraz errs, and this is already ridiculously enjoyable, Fritz taking control of the next rally by landing a forehand on to the baseline and seeing it home with backhands down the line to earn a third break point. And this time he looks ready to take it, racing to net when a drop sits up \u2026 but Alcaraz reads him and puts away the volley! The anticipation there was spooky, and there\u2019s something about watching him play that\u2019s almost wrong, stuff that shouldn\u2019t be possible happening with such regularity it feels unreal, or staged. And that\u2019s exactly the next point, a no-look drop, discharged with Fritz expecting a booming cross-court shot, followed up with a perfectly disguised and perfect lob; from there, Alcaraz sees out the hold, and these two games have been of absurdly high standard.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Alcaraz 0-1 Fritz* (denotes server) A forehand clouted wide gives Alcaraz 0-15 \u2026 but that\u2019s nothing a service winner can\u2019t solve. At 30-15, though, a tame forehand into the net puts him under immediate pressure \u2026 but that\u2019s nothing an ace can\u2019t serve. He quickly makes 40-30, too, but a backhand winner sizzles past him cross, and another netted forehand means Alcaraz has advantage. Fritz looks nervous, reflecting how well he knows he\u2019s playing: this is is his time. He saves break point with a forehand winner, but is soon down advantage again, totally dominated in the next rally. Also again, though, he restores deuce, and this time an ace raises game point \u2026 only to be followed by a double. On the one hand, this isn\u2019t the game Fritz had in mind when he opted to serve but, on the other, if he can see out the tension and hold, it\u2019ll fortify him with confidence. Meantime, though, an ace earns another advantage, but again, he can\u2019t see it out; what a start to the match this is. AND HAVE A LOOK! Again up advantage and this tome at the net with a simple putaway there for him, Fritz picks out Alcaraz who hoists a lob, then deals with the tweener sent at him in riposte via volley. That was another terrific exchange, was, restoring deuce, but Fritz again makes his ad, this time punishing down an ace to secure a nine-minute hold. MORE MORE MORE MORE MORE.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Fritz has been getting closer to a big breakthrough \u2013 he made last year\u2019s US Open final, beating Alexander Zverev en route, and he gave Alcaraz trouble in the semis at this year\u2019s Wimbledon. And though he\u2019s yet to beat one of the greats on the big occasion, he\u2019ll feel he\u2019s in good enough for so to do. He has the balls and is preparing to serve. Ready \u2026 play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Out comes Fritz, followed by Alcaraz. The crowds so far have been great, and who doesn\u2019t want to spend a weekday afternoon enjoying genius?<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty fast,\u201d Fritz said of the court after his first match, also noting that there\u2019s some altitude, so the ball flies through the air quicker, aspects which help his flat backhand. If he hits it cross-court, he might find it coming back even harder, but if he can sent it down the line, it might work well for him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n If Alcaraz wins today, he\u2019ll be one win against Musetti away from ending the year as world no 1. If he loses, a win in his final match will leave Sinner needing him to lose the semi, while winning the title as an undefeated champion; if loses both matches, Sinner will merely need to lift the trophy. Which would be pretty likely, given every tournament both have entered this season, one has won.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n The problem Fritz has is he too has weaknesses. I\u2019d expect Alcaraz to target his backhand while putting him on the bike, moving him side to side and into the net so he can\u2019t plant feet and thwack.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So how does Fritz win today? Well, patience is important: Alcaraz isn\u2019t metronomic like Sinner, and loses his serve more often; Fritz needn\u2019t force things, but when the opportunities arise, he has to be ready. Usually, he\u2019d want to shorten points, but in this one he may hope to lengthen them, hitting full and straight to deny angles and force Alcaraz to seek winners.<\/p>\n Otherwise, he has to attack the serve \u2013 first and second \u2013 and the backhand, then hope for an off-day.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Alcaraz leads Fritz 4-1 in the head-to-head \u2026 but Fritz\u2019s one win came not that long ago, in September, and it was also on an indoor hard court. I guess we might say it came two weeks after the US Open final, so chances are, its champion has been more focused, but if helps convince Fritz he can win this afternoon, it doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n It\u2019s not easy being a tenniser. To be fit enough to chase like mad for five hours, delivering skills that demand precision and power, while living life on the road away from family and friends, is a confronting existence.<\/p>\n The reward, though, for those at the top, is occasions such as this \u2013 and yet, for Taylor Fritz, they come freighted with frustration: he\u2019s close to the top of the game, so close he can taste the glory, and yet it looks unlikely ever to be his. He played very nicely indeed in beating Lorenzo Musetti on Sunday, but would that level be enough to see off Carlos Alcaraz<\/a>? Probably not.<\/p>\n And yet. Like Felix Auger-Aliassime last evening, if he serves well, he can stick in sets, and if he can stick in sets, he can reduce them to a tiebreak point here and there, and if he can reduce them to a tiebreak point here and there, if he produces his best tennis during them, or if Alcaraz errs, that\u2019s a lot of ifs, but he can get this done. Perhaps.<\/p>\n Either way, though, it\u2019s going to be a lot of fun watching him try, just as it\u2019s always a lot of fun watching Alcaraz watching people try. And if there\u2019s a better way of spending a Tuesday afternoon, I\u2019m yet to discover it.<\/p>\n Play: 1pm GMT<\/p>\n