Sizing Up Sunday: Alcaraz takes title in 2023 debut; Medvedev stops Sinner in Rotterdam; Fritz wins Delray Beach

WATCH: In three sets, Medvedev tops Sinner for Rotterdam championship

Across the globe on Sunday, ATP finals took place, ranging from European indoor action in Rotterdam to summer clay-court play in Buenos Aires to a late-winter hardcourt stage in Delray Beach, Fla. Of the six finalists on three continents, five were ranked in the Top 14, the results triggered fascinating implications for 2023.

WTA action took place Saturday, with Iga Swiatek defeating Jessica Pegula to win Doha. Throughout the day, we'll update Sizing Up Sunday:

Delray Beach: Taylor Fritz d. Mimomir Kecmanovic, 6-0, 5-7, 6-2

As Taylor Fritz seeks to continually reaffirm his spot as the highest-ranked American man, Delray Beach is the kind of tournament he knows he needs to win: an ATP 250 hardcourt event played in the United States. Seeded first, Fritz had yet to lose a set all week until today’s final versus Mimomir Kecmanovic. Holding championship point at 4-5 in the second set, Fritz hit a forehand that went long—and, soon enough, validated his belief that if you win a first set 6-0, you’re not going to automatically win the second.

But Fritz rebounded sharply to take charge of the third set and earn his fifth career singles title. After going 1-4 in his first five singles finals, Fritz has now won four straight.

Like Carlos Alcaraz, Fritz has significant ranking points to defend; specifically, last year’s title run at Indian Wells. Having grown up in Southern California, that was an event Fritz always pointed himself towards. Since that breakthrough triumph, Fritz has experienced some highs—quarterfinals of Wimbledon, semifinals of the ATP Finals—and lows: a first round loss at the US Open, a second round exit at the Australian Open. But now, back in North America, he’s playing his brand of forceful, focused tennis.

Kecmanovic’s three-set semifinal victory over Radu Albot was his 100th ATP match win. Ranked 33rd headed into Delray Beach, the 23-year-old Serb displayed plenty of power and grit to reach his third ATP final and first on hard courts. Though initially overwhelmed by Fritz, Kecmanovic fought back well to level the match, only to be rapidly overtaken in the third. It will be interesting to see how his skill set continues to evolve.

Buenos Aires: Carlos Alcaraz d. Cam Norrie, 6-3, 7-5

It had been three months since Carlos Alcaraz had competed on tour before this week, so it would have been understandable for him to lose at any stage of the Argentina Open. But that didn’t happen. After being extended to three sets in his opener versus 57th-ranked Laslo Djere, Alcaraz didn’t drop a set on the way to winning his seventh career title at 19. In the final against Cam Norrie, Alcaraz was in control, his only hiccup coming when he served for the title at 6-3, 5-3, and was broken by the savvy lefthander. Quickly rallying from that setback, Alcaraz went on to win the set, 7-5.

Alcaraz now heads 1,200 miles north to Rio de Janeiro to defend his title at the Rio Open. That’s the first of several significant results Alcaraz generated last year—the semis at Indian Wells, followed by title runs in Miami, Barcelona and Madrid. We found out much about Alcaraz in 2022, a supernova-like ascent that revealed his zeal for competition and exceptional array of shots. Now, in Alcaraz’s tricky sophomore year among the elite, we’ll find out how he handles the pressure of expectation.

As for Norrie, it was interesting for him to pass up the chance to defend the title he’d won last year at Delray Beach. Instead, Norrie opted to play on his least effective surface. It wasn’t an easy path. Two of Norrie’s three wins in Buenos Aires were three-setters. But as he has for years now, Norrie proved an effective problem-solver and reached a clay-court final for the second time (Lyon ’22 was the other). Norrie will also be playing next week in Rio, where in the second round his opponent could be another formidable clay-courter, Dominic Thiem.

Rotterdam: Daniil Medvedev d. Jannik Sinner, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2

Resurgent is a good way to describe Daniil Medvedev’s title run at the ABN AMRO Open. On February 28 last year, Medvedev reached No. 1 in the world. But the time since has been less productive. Arriving in Rotterdam, Medvedev was ranked 11th. During these last 12 months, the defensive qualities of Medvedev’s game—a deep return of serve position, a reluctance to rush the net—have often left him unmasked. That remained true in the early stages of this final, with Sinner commanding the real estate. But Medvedev adjusted. With altered court positioning, pace and accuracy, he was able to extract more errors from Sinner and earn a 16th ATP singles title.

Having last year only won a pair of 250 titles in Los Cabos and Vienna, Medvedev’s victory at this 500 event is his biggest win since the 2021 US Open. Two questions as 2023 unfolds: Does Medvedev mostly on the superb court coverage and backhand that have taken him far? Or does he enhance his arsenal with variations in return and rally position? Another factor, of course, will be how Medvedev continues to grapple with the tensions of his homeland being at war.

Sinner had hoped to back up last week’s title run in Marseille with another victory. Though coming one set short is surely frustrating, the Italian is increasingly comfortable in the front part of the court. Clearly, work with Darren Cahill—a man with a profound understanding of net coverage—has helped Sinner learn to take advantage of his powerful groundstrokes and move forward to volley. Such tactics as smart approach shots and the occasional serve-and-volley can plant seeds of doubt in opponents and break up their game. It will be fascinating to see how Sinner continues to build these skills.