Fast courts at ATP Finals in Turin don’t just favour big servers, says Taylor Fritz

After five-days of serve-centric tennis at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, the general assessment from viewers is that the conditions favor big servers. American Taylor Fritz, who dropped just 17 points on serve during his three-set triumph over Felix Auger-Aliassime on Thursday evening in Turin, says it swings both ways.

Fritz – it helps players that don’t typically get free points on serve

The name of the game is unreturnable serves and first-strike tennis in Turin, and Fritz says that the slick, fast-playing surface helps the players who don’t serve big – maybe more than the rest.

“Here’s the thing,” Fritz said. “I think for someone who’s a really good server, it maybe isn’t the best for them because they’re going to hold serve anyways on whatever surface they play on. I think it helps a lot the people that maybe don’t get as many free points on their serve.”

“I think it is very important in terms of, if you play a bad game, you get broken, you’re probably going to lose the set. That’s just how it is.

— Taylor Fritz

A good example is Rafael Nadal. The Spaniard was averaging 4.63 aces per match in 2022, prior to the ATP Finals. On Thursday against Casper Ruud he hit 16 aces, which is just about four times better than his season average. Nadal prefers the slower surfaces, but after two losses in Turin he clearly figured out the way forward: serving big. He defeated Ruud 7-5, 7-5 to close his remarkable 2022 season in style.

“At the end is tennis, you know?” Nadal said. “Even if the courts are different, it’s about being competitive and be under confidence and be under the rhythm of the competition.”

Fritz said he practiced with Nadal before the tournament and had difficulty winning points against the Spaniard’s serve.

“I practiced with Rafa the first day I was here,” he said. “We played a practice set and I think I won three points returning his serve in the set. That’s not normal that Rafa is acing me three times a game.”

“If you play a bad game, you get broken, you’re probably going to lose the set”

No matter who benefits the most from the surface in Turin, it’s clear that there is very little margin for error. One break typically wins the set, whether it comes in the first game or in the “business end”.

“I think it is very important in terms of, if you play a bad game, you get broken, you’re probably going to lose the set,” Fritz said. “That’s just how it is. You can’t afford to have throwaway games on the serve. I think that was probably my biggest issue against Casper [a loss in a third-set tiebreak to Ruud in round robin play] a couple of days ago. The first game I served. I kind of just gave it to him. You can’t do that.

“Holding serve by far is the most important thing on this court, holding serve and returning. But you don’t necessarily have to be serving amazing. If you just hit your spots, take care of the serve, it’s going to look like everyone is serving incredible.”

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