Taylor Fritz will play for the Stockholm Open title after beating Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 6-2 in only 63 minutes in Friday's semi-finals. His opponent on Saturday is Thiago Agustin Tirante, who beat fourth seed Alejandro Tabilo 7-5, 7-6(1) to reach the first tour-level final of his career.
Fritz turns the tables on Musetti
Less than three weeks after Musetti beat him 6-3, 6-4 in the Lyon final, Fritz reversed the result with one of his cleanest performances of the indoor season. The top seed broke early in both sets and converted three of his four break points, according to Tennis Majors, while Tennis Now reported that he did not face a single break point on his own serve and hit eight aces.
The American explained the change in approach after the match. "The short answer is I was a lot more aggressive and took on a lot more shots that are a bit uncomfortable for me," Fritz said, as reported by Tennis Now. He also admitted that the Lyon defeat was on his mind, noting that he had "just lost to Lorenzo in a final not too long ago".
The win was Fritz's 15th on indoor courts this year, the most on the tour, and it takes him to a sixth final of the 2026 season. The world No. 10 reached the semi-finals without hitting a ball in the quarter-finals, after Holger Rune withdrew on Thursday.
A flat day for Musetti
For Musetti, the semi-final came less than 24 hours after a two-hour-and-29-minute battle with Ugo Humbert. Tennis Majors relayed comments he gave to Bolavip, in which the Italian said he "simply didn't have the energy and the legs to compete" and that his thoughts were turning to next season.
The defeat does not change the bigger picture of a strong autumn for the third seed, who won the title in Lyon last month. Musetti still leads their head-to-head 5-4 after nine meetings.
Tirante reaches a first ATP final
The other semi-final was closer. Tirante took the first set 7-5 against Tabilo and broke for 5-4 in the second, only to be broken back when serving for the match. He settled it in the tie-break, winning the first five points and taking it 7-1 after one hour and 46 minutes, according to the official ATP match data.
The Argentine, ranked No. 51, had lost in his two previous ATP semi-finals. His week in Stockholm began with a walkover from fifth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, followed by wins over Jaume Munar and qualifier Aleksandr Shevchenko, who had knocked out Casper Ruud earlier in the week, as we reported on Tuesday.
Both Tennis Majors and Tennis Now note that Tirante is the first Argentine to reach an indoor final on the ATP Tour since Diego Schwartzman in Antwerp in 2021.
The final: Fritz v Tirante
The official order of play has the singles final on Centre Court on Saturday, 14 November, starting at 13:00 local time. Fritz will be the clear favourite on ranking, experience and form, but the head-to-head is not on his side: Tirante beat him 7-5, 6-3 in their only previous meeting, in Montreal in August.
What it means
A title would give Fritz his second of the season after Washington and keep up his record of winning at least two ATP titles every year since 2022, as Tennis Majors pointed out. For Tirante, the final is already a career milestone, and a win over the top seed would bring a first ATP trophy.
Sources
This article was written by TiebreakNews from the reporting below, checked against official results and rankings.
- ATP Tour — Stockholm results
- ATP Tour — Stockholm daily schedule
- Tennis Majors — Fritz avenges Lyon defeat to Musetti and reaches career-best sixth final of the season in Stockholm
- Tennis Majors — Tirante beats Tabilo to reach first ATP final in Stockholm
- Tennis Now — Bold Fritz Blitzes Musetti for 25th Career Final in Stockholm