Novak Djokovic kept his bid for a record-equalling sixth ATP Finals title alive by beating Taylor Fritz in straight sets to reach Sunday’s final in Turin.
Djokovic, who went unbeaten through the group stage of the tour’s season-ending tournament, won 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (8-6) in just under two hours. He will face either third seed Casper Ruud or Andrey Rublev in the final.
The 35-year-old Serb is trying to win his first ATP Finals title since 2015 and match Roger Federer’s record haul.
Djokovic had to recover quickly from a gruelling three-hour win over Daniil Medvedev in his final group match, which had ended less than 24 hours previously,
A spirited showing from Fritz saw him recover from a break down in the first set. The American also broke in the opening game of the second and he appeared to be on the verge of levelling the match when he surged into a 5-3 lead.
But Djokovic broke back and again found a way to pull through the tiebreaker, winning the match on his second match point. He has now won all six of his encounters against the 25-year-old Fritz.
As well as possibly matching Federer’s record, Djokovic also stands to claim the largest payday in tennis history on Sunday, with $4,740,300 on offer for claiming the ATP Finals trophy undefeated.
“I had to fight to survive,” Djokovic said after clinching his spot in the final.
“Coming into today’s match from yesterday’s gruelling battle against Medvedev, I knew it would take me some time to adjust and find the dynamic movement I need against Fritz, who is one of the best servers on the Tour.
“I am very pleased to have overcome this one as I don’t think it was one of my best days with my tennis, but I managed to hang in there.”
