Spoiler:
Fritz advances to second ATP World Tour semi-final to face defending champ
#NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz had never made an ATP World Tour semi-final on clay before this week. In fact, he had only played three clay-court matches combined on the ATP World Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour prior to his Houston debut. But judging by his play Friday, you wouldn’t know it.
The 20-year-old battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the deciding set to oust 2015 winner Jack Sock 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship and move into the semi-finals.
"I felt like it could really go either way. I just had to get back in it," Fritz said. "I just stayed with it and was able to come up [good] on the points that mattered."
The victory snaps a six-match ATP World Tour quarter-final losing streak for the American, who is now 7-1 in tour-level three-set matches this year. The World No. 72, who saved two match points in the first round against another compatriot, Tim Smyczek, avenged two previous five-set losses against the third-seeded Sock, triumphing in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting on clay.
Fritz is now 8-3 in tour-level matches this season and 22-6 at all levels, as he continues pursuing his maiden ATP World Tour title, after breaking through as an 18-year-old to reach the Memphis final two years ago.
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"In Memphis I think I was just playing so well for that stretch. I was just playing so far above the level I actually was at. I was playing out of my mind," Fritz said. "Now I feel like I'm playing very within myself and playing to a level I know I can always be playing at... I'm a lot more ready. I'm a lot better of a player than I was."
Fritz will next play defending champion Steve Johnson, who, despite not finding a break, battled past recent Miami titlist and top seed John Isner 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5). It is Johnson's second semi-final of the season (also Delray Beach), and as the sixth seed, he is the highest-ranked player remaining.
"Happy to get through," said Johnson, who is getting married on 21 April. "Just trying my best to enjoy the moment and give it my all. Win or lose, this is just a small thing on the radar for my life the next couple of weeks."
Johnson gains the lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Isner, 5-4, after his first win against his close friend on clay (1-2). The 28-year-old withstood a 28-ace barrage — Isner's 19th of the evening made him the fourth player in history to hit 10,000 aces — and ended his compatriot's eight-match tour-level winning streak to extend his own winning streak in Houston to seven.
The World No. 51 failed to convert on both break points he earned and won the same number of points as Isner (106), but lost just one point on his serve in both tie-breaks combined to move to 9-8 in 2018.
Fritz beat Johnson en route to his maiden ATP World Tour final two years ago in Memphis. The California native is the only player remaining who has gone the distance in each of his matches in Houston this week at the River Oaks Country Club.
Did You Know?
Fritz has now won both of his Top 20 matches this season, also beating Sam Querrey at the Delray Beach Open.
#NextGenATP American Taylor Fritz had never made an ATP World Tour semi-final on clay before this week. In fact, he had only played three clay-court matches combined on the ATP World Tour and the ATP Challenger Tour prior to his Houston debut. But judging by his play Friday, you wouldn’t know it.
The 20-year-old battled back from a 4-2 deficit in the deciding set to oust 2015 winner Jack Sock 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 at the Fayez Sarofim & Co. U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championship and move into the semi-finals.
"I felt like it could really go either way. I just had to get back in it," Fritz said. "I just stayed with it and was able to come up [good] on the points that mattered."
The victory snaps a six-match ATP World Tour quarter-final losing streak for the American, who is now 7-1 in tour-level three-set matches this year. The World No. 72, who saved two match points in the first round against another compatriot, Tim Smyczek, avenged two previous five-set losses against the third-seeded Sock, triumphing in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting on clay.
Fritz is now 8-3 in tour-level matches this season and 22-6 at all levels, as he continues pursuing his maiden ATP World Tour title, after breaking through as an 18-year-old to reach the Memphis final two years ago.
You May Also Like: Fritz, With Annacone On His Team, Knows This Run Can Continue
"In Memphis I think I was just playing so well for that stretch. I was just playing so far above the level I actually was at. I was playing out of my mind," Fritz said. "Now I feel like I'm playing very within myself and playing to a level I know I can always be playing at... I'm a lot more ready. I'm a lot better of a player than I was."
Fritz will next play defending champion Steve Johnson, who, despite not finding a break, battled past recent Miami titlist and top seed John Isner 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(5). It is Johnson's second semi-final of the season (also Delray Beach), and as the sixth seed, he is the highest-ranked player remaining.
"Happy to get through," said Johnson, who is getting married on 21 April. "Just trying my best to enjoy the moment and give it my all. Win or lose, this is just a small thing on the radar for my life the next couple of weeks."
Johnson gains the lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Isner, 5-4, after his first win against his close friend on clay (1-2). The 28-year-old withstood a 28-ace barrage — Isner's 19th of the evening made him the fourth player in history to hit 10,000 aces — and ended his compatriot's eight-match tour-level winning streak to extend his own winning streak in Houston to seven.
The World No. 51 failed to convert on both break points he earned and won the same number of points as Isner (106), but lost just one point on his serve in both tie-breaks combined to move to 9-8 in 2018.
Fritz beat Johnson en route to his maiden ATP World Tour final two years ago in Memphis. The California native is the only player remaining who has gone the distance in each of his matches in Houston this week at the River Oaks Country Club.
Did You Know?
Fritz has now won both of his Top 20 matches this season, also beating Sam Querrey at the Delray Beach Open.