Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton given tough draws as ATP Finals groups confirmed.

The United States will have two representatives at this year’s ATP Finals in Turin.

Last year’s finalist, Taylor Fritz, will be joined by debutant Ben Shelton, as the pair look to win America’s first title at the event since 1999.

However, their ATP Finals title chances took a hit before the tournament even began, having been given tricky draws.

Fritz will play Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic, and Alex de Minaur in the Jimmy Connors Group, while Shelton takes on Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, and Lorenzo Musetti/Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Bjorn Borg Group.

Unfortunately for both players, their head-to-head records against their group rivals leave a lot to be desired…

Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton’s head-to-head record against their group stage opponents
Fritz doesn’t lead the head-to-head against any of his round robin opponents, and has struggled against one player in particular.

The 28-year-old is 6-20 against his group stage opponents, but will be most concerned about his record vs Djokovic.

Fritz has yet to beat the legendary Serb in 11 attempts on the ATP Tour.

He did, however, beat Djokovic at the recent Six Kings Slam exhibition event in Saudi Arabia, a result that could well give him some confidence heading to Turin.

Fritz’s fellow American, Shelton, hasn’t been given a kind draw either, having struggled against several of his group stage opponents since coming on tour.

Shelton has only won two career matches against members of the Bjorn Borg Group.

After winning his first meeting with world number one, Sinner, Shelton proceeded to lose seven in a row.

If Shelton wants to make his way through to the semifinals of the ATP Finals on debut, he’ll need to make significant improvements against all the players in his group.