The two have met twice before, both times on slow hard courts in Indian Wells. Fritz won their first encounter, 6-4, 6-3, in 2021; Sinner won the rematch last spring, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. The second one obviously means more, but the score was still close, and Fritz sounds as if he took a lot of positives from it.
“I think I’ve always played well against Jannik,” he says. “It’s been a while since we played, but last time he got me in three at Indian Wells. I don’t know, he hits the ball big, he’s like a very strong ball striker, but I feel like I always hit the ball really nice off of his ball.”
Watching highlights of their 2023 match, you can see what he’s talking about. Fritz didn’t have trouble staying with Sinner in rallies that day, or responding to his pace with more of his own. The American had chances to win in the third as well.
