Washington, D.C [US], August 3 : Top seed Taylor Fritz extended his hot hard court form in Washington DC as he overpowered his practice partner Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-3 in the feature night match at the Citi Open.
Fritz rallied from 0/40 down in the second set to set up clash with former World No. 1 Andy Murray clash in the next round.
Trying to work his way into contention to qualify for the season-ending ATP Finals, Fritz has the opportunity to move inside the cut in eighth position in the ATP Live Race To Turin with a title this week.
“Zach and I have trained together consistently for the past couple of years; I try to give him advice. He’s not someone you want to see on the other side of the court. I know what level he is capable of,” ATP.com quoted Fritz as saying.
“Zach and I have trained together consistently for the past couple of years; I try to give him advice. He’s not someone you want to see on the other side of the court. I know what level he is capable of,” Fritz added.
Fritz, who won his second title of the season last week in Atlanta, finished the first set against Svajda, 20, with love breaks in the third and eighth games. The 25-year-old broke out of a 0/40 tie in the fifth game of the second set and won the match three games later.
“I played all those points well. A mix of good serving and some good shots I hit. It was one of those nights when I was playing a bit looser," Fritz said of the break points he faced in the second set.
“It’s going to be a tough match against Andy, who is such an amazing competitor. The conditions are really, really slow so that will help him in the match a little bit," the American player said.
Elsewhere French wild card Gael Monfils used his court speed to prevent the variety in Alexander Bublik's bag of tricks to claim a 6-3, 6-4 win.
"I knew I needed to be really fast and sharp on every ball. He can hit a lot of drop shots so I knew I had to be free with my feet. I am fast He might be able to hit two or three [I can't get] but I know I will get most of them," Monfils said.
The 36-year-old will next meet Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.
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