Taylor Fritz first made an ATP Tour final more than three years ago in Memphis, when he was just 18. On Friday, the American will have a chance to reach his second tour-level championship match.
In a battle of 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifiers Thursday, Fritz defeated Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6(5) to advance to the semi-finals of the Nature Valley International.
Fritz failed to serve out his second-round match against top seed Guido Pella Wednesday, later saying, “I just played a really poor game. I didn’t make any first serves. The only way to say it is I really choked that game.”
It was like deja vu against Hurkacz, as Fritz could not serve out the victory at 5-3 in the second set, the Pole earning his first break of the match. But Fritz remained calm and was able to close out his one-hour, 45-minute triumph in the tie-break.
Fritz will face a Brit in the last four, with third seed Kyle Edmund defeating his in-form countryman, Daniel Evans, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. World No. 65 Evans recently won back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles on grass in Surbiton and Nottingham, but Edmund rallied by winning 27 of his 29 first-serve points in the last two sets en route to a one-hour, 49-minute victory. Edmund seeks his second ATP Tour title (2018 Antwerp).
“A lot of good things today, especially after the start. It probably made it even more of a better win,” Edmund said. “Once I sort of imposed myself in the match, I got more of a foothold in it.
“It’s getting better for sure. That’s pleasing for me. I’m happy about it, obviously. The nature of sport or tennis is you keep striving to get better and better. There’s never a perfect level or a perfect game so I’ve got to keep improving.”
Fritz wasn’t the only American to move on, as former World No. 11 Sam Querrey ousted fifth seed Fernando Verdasco 7-6(4), 6-2 in one hour and 37 minutes.
This is Querrey’s first tournament since Houston in April due to an abdominal injury. He will try to reach his first ATP Tour final since the 2018 New York Open when he faces Italian Thomas Fabbiano, who upset Fever-Tree Championships finalist Gilles Simon 6-4, 6-3 to make his maiden tour-level semi-final.
Did You Know?
Fritz saved all seven break points he faced in the first set against Hurkacz, and he only landed 45 per cent of his first serves in the match.
Top Seeds Move Closer To Title
No. 1 seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah reached the Eastbourne final, defeating fourth seeds Dominic Inglot and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 7-6(10). In the championship match they will face second seeds Maximo Gonzalez and Horacio Zeballos, who ousted third seeds Fabrice Martin and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-3, 10-4.
