Melbourne [Australia], January 14 : Fourth seed Taylor Fritz cruised into the second round of the Australian Open for the seventh consecutive year, dispatching fellow American Jenson Brooksby with a dominant performance on Day 3 in Melbourne.
Fritz secured a commanding 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 victory against Brooksby, who was making his return to competitive tennis after a year-long absence.
"I'm super happy how the match went," Fritz said, as per the official website of ATP.
"It's never easy playing the first match of Slams with a bit of nerves. I did a good job shaking that off early and getting it done in straights," he added.
Brooksby had last competed at the 2023 Australian Open before undergoing wrist surgery and serving a suspension for missing three anti-doping tests.
Fritz, who reached the 2024 US Open final and the ATP Finals title match last year, now awaits the winner of the clash between Cristian Garin and Borna Coric in the next round.
Earlier, Matteo Berrettini of Italy overcame Britain's Cameron Norrie in a closely contested match, firing 32 aces en route to a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 victory. Berrettini, a former Australian Open semi-finalist in 2022, has struggled to make deep runs in majors recently, reaching the second week only once in the past two years (Wimbledon 2023).
Berrettini's next challenge will be Danish star Holger Rune, who edged past Zhang Zhizhen of China in a five-set thriller. Rune, ranked in the Top 10, prevailed 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 after three hours and 10 minutes. He holds a 3-1 advantage in his head-to-head record against Berrettini, having won their last three encounters.
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