Andy Murray gives two-word verdict on star's Carlos Alcaraz plan as ATP Finals heats up

Taylor Fritz and Carlos Alcaraz are renewing their rivalry at the ATP Finals after being drawn in the same group. Both men won their opening round-robin matches and are hoping to improve their chances of advancing from the group stage to the knockout semi-finals.

Last year's runner-up Fritz got off to a strong start on Monday when he beat home hope Lorenzo Musetti - and he then gave a fascinating insight into his serve placement after winning 77 per cent of points on serve. Fritz knew it would be crucial to do the same against Alcaraz - and he got Andy Murray's approval on his tactics.

Fritz clinched a 6-3 6-4 victory over ATP Finals debutant Musetti on Monday and was then quizzed over his serving stats. The world No. 6 had a slower average second serve speed than Musetti, but still won more points from it compared to his rival.

When the numbers were put to Fritz during his post-match press conference, the 28-year-old went on a deep dive and explained exactly why serve placement was more important than speed.

"Okay, let me explain," Fritz smiled. "The speed only really matters to where we're standing to return. He is standing further back to return, so there's no reason for me to hit a bigger second serve because he's five feet behind the baseline.

"I'm not going to rush him with a second. Why would you take the extra risk? I don't think when he's that far back he's going to do anything with it. I feel fine to hit a much softer second.

"If we separate any of the points where he's actually returning much closer, I'm hitting a much bigger second serve. Same thing the other way around: I'm returning his serve close, so he's trying to serve very aggressive to take my time away. If I were to go back, he would probably kick his second serve and hit it a lot softer, so..."

A video of Fritz's explanation was shared on Instagram, and it caught Murray's attention. "Interesting perspective," the three-time Major winner wrote in the comments.

Fritz knew that the same tactics would be crucial to beat Alcaraz in his second group match. The American's sole win over the world No. 1 came at the Laver Cup - also on an indoor hard court - so he had a clear game plan.

"I think, yeah, when it comes to playing Carlos, it's tough. I think the last couple times we've played, the last two times especially, he's played very well. He has played very aggressive against me," the world No. 6 said ahead of the match.

"I think at Laver Cup I was able to beat him to the punch a lot. I played extremely aggressive there and I was able to take control of a lot of points.

"I think one of the adjustments he made from that match was to really stress not letting me do that. He really tries to take the racket out of my hand. He's been pretty successful doing that the last couple matches in Tokyo and in Saudi.

"I'm going to have to serve really well. If I do that, no matter how the rest of the match is going, I can keep myself in the match. I returned really well today. I hope I can return aggressively, return well tomorrow, play aggressive and try to beat him to the punch sometimes."