Taylor Fritz Quashes Canadian Hopes, Advances To ATP Toronto Masters Round Four
Fritz defeated Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-2 to make progress at the ATP Toronto Masters. Ben Shelton got the better of Brandon Nakashima, while Rublev and Tiafoe also advanced.
Taylor Fritz dashed Canadian hopes at the ATP Toronto Masters on Friday by decisively defeating Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-2, thus advancing to the fourth round. The American second seed took just 77 minutes to overcome the 37th-ranked local player and secure a clash with Jiri Lehecka, who triumphed 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 over France's Arthur Fils.
Fritz aims to reach at least the quarter-finals in this tournament, as it remains the only Masters event where he hasn't reached that stage. He broke Diallo's serve once in the opening set and maintained control thereafter.
'It was important not to let him get into the match and get the crowd fired up," Fritz said. 'I knew the momentum could shift at any time. I'm super happy with it, considering how I felt on the court two nights ago in my first match.
I felt way more comfortable, confident, just hitting the ball, being aggressive, just striking it. I did well to be up an early break in the sets. I did well to just hold. Played really solid from the baseline as well. I backed it up well from the ground, and just did a good job of not letting him back in the sets."
In another match, Brandon Nakashima won his first set against American Ben Shelton before the fourth-seeded Shelton rallied to clinch a 6-7 (8/10), 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) victory. Shelton had trailed by a break in the deciding set, and Nakashima saved four match points before Shelton sealed the win with his 19th ace. Shelton finished with 46 winners, improving to 5-0 against Nakashima, and will now compete for a quarter-final spot against Flavio Cobolli, who overcame Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.
'I've got to find my fire from somewhere," Shelton said of the late-night crowd support in Canada. 'I live off of that. Night matches are never easy, the temperature cools down and conditions are different. I showed a lot of perseverance. It's difficult being down against a big server. To come from behind takes a bit of luck."
Seeds Progress
The seeded duo of Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe faced tough three-set matches before progressing to the fourth round. Sixth seed Rublev, last year's runner-up in Canada to Alexei Popyrin, advanced 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 as Lorenzo Sonego double-faulted on match point.
Tiafoe, the number seven seed, admitted to having a challenging day but secured his hard-fought win against Australian Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. 'The ball was flying a lot, it was really ugly, but I'm happy to get through it," Tiafoe said. 'It doesn't matter how you win. You just have to compete."
Tiafoe will next face another Australian, Alex de Minaur, who progressed when compatriot Christopher O'Connell withdrew due to injury. Rublev is set to play against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who previously defeated him on clay in Barcelona this season. Davidovich Fokina defeated Jakob Mensik 6-2, 6-4.
'I'm really happy, it's my first time in the round of 16 here in Toronto," Rublev said, noting that he had to adjust his serve in windy conditions to stage his comeback. 'I played more aggressively in the second set and made fewer mistakes. I was doing more with my serve. I had to slow it wide in the wind."
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