Taylor Fritz of United States celebrates the victory at the end of the match during Men's Singles Group Stage match against Alex De Minaur of Australia on day five of the Nitto ATP Finals 2024 at Inalpi Arena. IPA

Taylor Fritz secures semifinals berth in ATP Finals

By Sai Mohan | Last updated Nov 15, 2024 4:39 AM ET

Just two months after becoming the first American man to reach a U.S. Open final since Andy Roddick in 2006, world No. 5 Taylor Fritz is again trying to put American men's tennis back on the map.

On Thursday, he became the first American man since Roddick to reach the final four of the year-ending ATP Finals tournament twice (2022, 2024). Fritz defeated Australia's Alex de Minaur in his final group-stage match to finish second in the Ilie Nastase Group, behind only World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who didn't drop a set through his three wins.

Fritz showed resolve in a come-from-behind win after he dropped the first set and had to fend off two break points in the second. He got increasingly frustrated with the chair umpire about certain calls but ultimately prevailed with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 victory over De Minaur.

2 - Taylor Fritz is the first American player to reach the ATP Finals’ semi-finals on multiple occasions (2022 and 2024) since Andy Roddick (2003, 2004 and 2007). Qualified.#NittoATPFinals | @atptour @ATPMediaInfo
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 14, 2024

With a 51-22 singles record in 2024, Fritz has been a model of consistency. He made at least the quarterfinals in three of the four majors and reached the fourth round at Roland Garros, becoming the first American to reach the second week of all four slams in a year since Andre Agassi in 2003.

He's also the first American player since Pete Sampras and Agassi to notch at least nine wins over top 10-ranked players in one season, adding to his career year.

9 - Taylor Fritz is the first American player to register 9+ wins against top-10 opponents in a single season since Pete Sampras (10) and Andre Agassi (12) in 1999. Shooter.#NittoATPFinals | @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/UXiqzsuJuT
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) November 14, 2024

With Coco Gauff already winning the WTA Finals, could Fritz follow suit and make it an American sweep at the year-ending events?

Fritz will discover his semifinal opponent on Friday with Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev all still mathematically eligible to qualify from the other group.

The semifinals will be held on Saturday ahead of Sunday's final.

TAYLOR FRITZ IS A SEMI-FINALIST

The No. 1 American takes the last semi-final spot in the Ilie Nastase group joining Sinner #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/1d43y4OdF6
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 14, 2024

Sai Mohan

A veteran sportswriter based in Portugal, Sai covers the NBA for Yardbarker and a few local news outlets. He had the honor of covering sporting events across four different continents as a newspaper reporter. Some of his all-time favorite athletes include Mike Tyson, Larry Bird, Luís Figo, Ayrton Senna and Steffi Graf.

More must-reads: