Top seed Taylor Fritz claimed his 17th win from 20 matches on American soil this season when he defeated practice partner Zachary Svajda 6-3, 6-3 in the feature night match at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in Washington, D.C. Wednesday.
Fritz, who twice rallied from 0/40 down in the second set, will next face former World No. 1 Andy Murray.
Trying to work his way into contention to qualify for the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, Fritz has the opportunity to move inside the cut in eighth position in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin with a title this week.
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“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 said.
Coming off his second title of the season last week in Atlanta, Fritz stitched up the first set against 20-year-old Svajda with love breaks in the third and eighth games. The 25-year-old dug himself out of a 0/40 hold in the fifth game of the second set and claimed the decisive break three games later.
Three factors underpinned Fritz’s victory: He won 29 of 34 points on his first serve, he clubbed 32 winners to Svajda’s nine and he saved all eight break points faced.
“I played all those points well,” Fritz said of the break points he faced in the second set. “A mix of good serving and some good shots I hit. It was one of those nights when I was playing a bit looser.
“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.”
French wild card Gael Monfils used his dazzling court speed to thwart 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,” Monfils said. “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.”
The 36-year-old will next meet Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.