American Taylor Fritz secured his maiden victory in the group stage of the ATP Finals by defeating Russia's Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday. Medvedev's erratic behavior during the match nearly led to a default as he lost his temper and engaged in unusual antics.

Medvedev, the 2020 ATP Finals champion and runner-up in 2021, began to unravel after a series of double faults in the first set. This marked the first time Fritz had ever beaten the Russian in his career. The win was Fritz's 50th in 2024 and his eighth against a top-10 player this season.

Fritz noted, "I definitely felt like at 5-3 (in the second set) he was going to reset and try as hard as he could to break me and I just had to kind of tell myself, 'He's not going to just be done with the match'. It's very easy sometimes when someone's doing that to kind of relax and think that they're just going to be done and then you drop your level. I just had to try to tell myself to stay focused at 5-3 and play a really good game because he was going to fight for that game. Luckily, I served a great game."

The first set saw no break points until the final game, with Fritz dominating on his first serve while Medvedev struggled with his second serve. Leading 5-4, Medvedev won a long rally with a beautiful drop shot but then served three double faults to hand the set to Fritz. Medvedev's frustration culminated in him smashing his racket on the ground, finishing the set with seven double faults.

In the second set, Medvedev's temper flared again, leading to him breaking a microphone with his racket and receiving a point penalty. He continued to test the chair umpire's patience by repeatedly throwing his racket in the air and dropping it. The Turin crowd began to whistle and jeer as Medvedev faced Fritz's serve holding the racket by its head.

Medvedev admitted, "I get angry, frustrated. This time completely with myself, not with anyone. Just with myself. I was like, 'Whatever, I lost the match. I don't care'. I mean, you have to finish the match. You cannot withdraw, no? I just finished the match."

Fritz ultimately sealed the victory by serving to love in the final game. He added, "I really want to make it out of the group stage. Let's say I'm putting more expectation on myself to do better, I think I'm just a better player."

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