The USA's Taylor Fritz ended his 2022 season on a high note by defeating reigning champion Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Diriyah Tennis Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Fritz took one hour and 52 minutes to claim a hard-fought 7-6[5] 7-6[3] victory over the Russian, who squandered as many as six break points in the opening set.
Fritz's tie-breaker superiority ultimately got him over the line in the first set, and it was a similar story in the second between two men who were converting aces left, right and centre.
Another tight set would go the distance in front of the vibrant crowd, who witnessed Fritz remained composed in key moments to claim the victory and a $1m (£815.8k) prize.
"First off, congrats to Daniil for a great tournament. Last time we played, he won, [and] he told me that I was the better player in the first set, and it's kind of reverse this time around," Fritz said on the court.
"He was the better player for the match, and I was very lucky to kind of just scrape out some of these big points and get through it."
Fritz enters the 2023 season ninth in the ATP Rankings after winning three singles titles - including the Indian Wells Masters - while Medvedev sits two places higher in seventh.
Ben Knapton
