Taylor Fritz wants to prove them wrong. What a good place to do so. American Fritz had lost all three previous encounters against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Interestingly, those matches were played on hard court, a surface many would expect the American to dominate. Tsitsipas was the 2021 Roland Garros finalist; thus, he knows how to slide on clay. What happened today?
Fritz Got The Better Of Tsitsipas
They say you are only as good as your second serve and Taylor Fritz proved that today. In the first set especially, the American won ninety percent of his second serves, while his opponent only won forty-five percent of his. Despite the poor serving percentage of Fritz in the first set, he never gave Tsitsipas any break point opportunities. He defended well and he made his opponent work extremely hard to hold his own serve. The result, two breaks in the first set to take the first set 6-2.
Embed from Getty ImagesTsitsipas Fights Back In Set Two
The head-to-head favored the Greek player; thus, he believed he could settle into his game. The problem was that Fritz was not allowing him to settle into his game and he got broken again. For sure it would be another one-sided set; however, the American lost his focus just enough to gift back the break. Nevertheless, it was a short-lived respite as Fritz came roaring back to break again and regain the lead. This time, there were no mistakes. Focused on his objective, Fritz crossed the finished line with the 6-2, 6-4 victory.
Unchartered Territory For Taylor Fritz
I think it is safe to say that this was a big win for the American. In his career, he has twenty-five victories on clay to twenty-four losses. He would take that record if he could go on to win the title. With Novak Djokovic out of the equation, this is a golden opportunity for the remaining players. Next up for the American is the fiery Russian, Andrey Rublev. Fritz leads their H2H 4:2.
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