A final shot at neatly wrapping the season and Taylor Fritz doesn’t capitalize on it? Sounds absurd. After thrashing Daniil Medvedev in a feisty three-set rollercoaster at the ATP Finals, the American is drawn against Jannik Sinner. While Fritz hopes to exact revenge for his recent US Open loss to the Italian, he’ll be confined to a different setting. Top seed Sinner is the crowd favorite. However, Serena Williams‘ ex-coach believes he will overcome those challenges.

The round-robin opener of the year-end championships took a nasty curve when Russian star Medvedev broke loose while clashing against Fritz. He fired triple-double faults on 4-5 and, broke his racket before surrendering the first set. Things did not get any better as the fourth seed continued his antics in the second set and was awarded a point penalty, moments before losing the contest. While the American player maintained his composure, Sinner, on the other hand, made short work of his Australian competitor Alex de Minaur.

Seeing as the Italian superstar has been flaunting his stellar form all year, fans are doubtful about Fritz’s chances against him, but, Rennae Stubbs has delivered a bold verdict. During an episode on the ‘Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast‘, the Aussie coach hardly minced her words, and straight-up predicted a title-finish for the American sensation in Turin. She backed those claims saying he could benefit from the event’s fast-paced hardcourts. “I’m calling it right now. Taylor Fritz is winning this. I don’t know how fast the court is. If it’s really fast. Taylor has a really good shot, so let’s get to that.”

For those unaware, both players have locked horns three times on the tour, with Sinner leading the fifth seed 2-1 in their head-to-head tally. Regardless, Fritz is seemingly calm. He survived Meddy’s meltdown with class and of course, by keeping his head in the game; meaning he will inculcate his mental fortitude to survive Sinner’s challenge.

Taylor Fritz reveals methodology for not losing focus due to on-court distractions

Medvedev and his rash on-court antics could’ve screamed ‘distraction’ at any given point for Taylor Fritz. But, the American superstar was well versed in dealing with situations as such. While some players might lose focus of what’s at stake, the New York runner-up kept a steady performance and overpowered the Russian without letting his mind swing off.

In a post-match presser in Turin, Fritz revealed how he maintained his focus when his Russian rival spiraled out of control. “Sometimes when your opponents, like, make it appear almost like they’re not trying, maybe they’re not trying for a game, you can kind of lose your focus. Then they start trying again, they kind of catch you off guard. That happens a lot more in pro tennis than you think, the kind of half tank, then I’m going to try a real quick play, and then they get you.”

With Wednesday, November 13 set as the day he takes on Sinner for the fourth time on the tour, Fritz will look to perform at his level best. It will be interesting to see if the American player packs a punch while the home crowd supports Sinner during their much-awaited blockbuster.