Taylor Fritz shone on serve to register his first victory over Lorenzo Musetti in three years and begin his ATP Finals campaign in style.
American world number six Fritz beat the Italian 6-3 6-4 in front of a boisterous Turin crowd.
Fritz, runner-up to Jannik Sinner last year, dropped just three points on serve in the second set – and two of those were in the final game.
Ninth seed Musetti only had his place at the season-ending event confirmed on Sunday, when Novak Djokovic withdrew after beating him in the Athens Open final.
He had four early break opportunities against Fritz but could not take them before fatigue set in, with seven of his nine service games going to deuce.
“I was a little shaky at the start and I was letting him dictate a little too much,” Fritz, 28, told Sky Sports.
“It was a bit nervy for me, which is expected. I felt I was able to loosen up and I just started playing a lot better.”
World number one Jannik Sinner begins his campaign against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime later on Monday.
Sinner and rival Carlos Alcaraz are in contention for the year-end number one ranking.
Sinner must defend his title – and hope Alcaraz loses a group match and does not reach the final – to retain the top ranking.
In the doubles, Britons Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski began their campaign with a 6-3 7-5 win over Salvadoran Marcelo Arevalo and Croatia’s Mate Pavic.
No all-British pair has ever won the season-ending title, with Salisbury and American partner Rajeev Ram lifting it in 2022 and 2023.
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