Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship, Houston

[54] Ryan Harrison (USA) vs. (72) Taylor Fritz (USA)

It was the first meeting between two Americans, who are familiar with being in the spotlight. In 2007, Harrison was talked about as the next big American star. In 2015, Fritz was amongst the slew of young talented American male players expected to do great things. Fast forward to 2018; Harrison won his first title in 2017 and Fritz is still trying to win his first.

Fritz got to a career high of 53 in 2016 and Harrison got to a career high of 40 in 2017. They both rely on their big serve and forehand to take control of the point; thus, the advantage went to the player who protected their serve better.

Fritz got off to a miserable start, only serving 41% percent; however, Harrison was sharp from the start and never faced a break point against his serve. The second set was a complete turn-around for the younger American. After taking the first set, the momentum should have been on Harrison’s side. He served so well in the first, it should have been the same in set two; yet, inexplicably Harrison double faulted and lost his first service game at love and never recovered. Fritz never gave Harrison an opportunity to break his serve and he broke his compatriot three times to win the set 6-0.

The third set was about guts and mental fortitude. While Fritz always looks like he is ready to collapse, he has proven that he can dig deep when the occasion demands. In contrast, Harrison has been prone to collapsing mentally. Rattled by the social atmosphere he lost his composure, got frustrated and lost the match. Fritz had a slight wobble after taking the lead, but regrouped nicely to win 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Zimbio.com (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images North America: Taylor Fritz)