Rafael Nadal loses to Taylor Fritz in ATP Finals first match

| by Evita Mueller

Rafael Nadal played a solid match but was not good enough to defeat Taylor Fritz who benefitted greatly from the faster court in Turin.

The player with the stronger serve will always benefit from faster indoor courts, and in this case, that was definitely the case. Fritz gained a lot of points thanks to his serve, which was especially important in the first-set tiebreak. When Nadal opened the tiebreak with a score of 0-3, it didn't really matter that he was holding his serve quite comfortably before that.

Nadal double-faulted on the opening point due to the pressure of a strong Fritz return, and things only got worse from there. He was unable to generate enough power to apply much pressure on the American, who continued to hit the ball hard with great success.

WATCH: Djokovic and Nadal show incredible respect and admiration for each other
WATCH: Djokovic and Nadal show incredible respect and admiration for each other

After winning the first set, Fritz's confidence soared, making it even better in the second set when he continued to put heavy pressure on Nadal. By the time he took a 4-1 lead in the second set, Fritz had added four more winners to his 16 winners from the first set. For a 5-1 advantage, Fritz broke Nadal once more. He then won the game 6-1. Exceptionally composed Fritz gave a fantastic performance.

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