Shanghai 2024 Second Round Tuesday Fritz Tiafoe | ATP Tour

Shanghai

Fritz wants to get closer to the Top 5 in Shanghai

The Californian seeks his second ATP Masters 1000 title

October 07, 2024

Taylor Fritz wants to build a good end to the season with the Rolex Shanghai Masters as his first canvas. The American opened his way this Monday in the Asian ATP Masters 1000, beating Frenchman Terence Atmane 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in a match with minimal margins. If the American is one of the main names in the picture, his premiere served to sharpen his reflexes in a week full of challenges on Chinese soil.

The No. 7 in the PIF ATP Rankings resisted in an instinctive debut, with the punch as a script on the other side of the net. The Frenchman Atmane, armed with rhythm from the previous phase and with an unleashed serve (14 aces), presented a flat match as a welcome to the North American. Two tennis players taller than 1.90m facing each other in indoor conditions created a close duel, where Taylor had to find oxygen in two tiebreaks.

“He has the ability to hit a winner from any point on the court and that’s difficult,” Fritz said. “At times I felt like if I wanted to be the one attacking in the exchange, I had to force shots and I didn’t want to do that. Sometimes you have to adopt a more defensive, solid game and let him pull the trigger. If he gets the point, he gets the point.” .

“That uncertainty makes him quite uncomfortable. He is playing quite well, serving well in important points, so it was positive to advance in two sets.”

In a tournament where he is among the main candidates, Fritz will relive a well-known story in the round of 16 against the Japanese Yosuke Watanuki. The American leads the ATP Head2Head history 1-0 against the Asian, whom he beat in an intense three-set match last season in Shanghai.

Fritz continues to write a memorable season at the top of the ATP Tour. The American, who has a record of 45-19 this year, extends a course full of milestones in which he won two titles (Delray Beach, Eastbourne) and reached his first Grand Slam final, becoming the first American male finalist in a major of the last 15 years at the US Open in New York.

The North American also competes this week with the opportunity to strengthen his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time in his career. A semi-finalist in the 2022 edition, Fritz is currently ranked No. 5 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. A good result at the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai can direct his candidacy to the tournament that will put the finishing touch to the season.

“I don’t want to speak too soon, but I think I’m in a good position,” Fritz said. “I’m not thinking too much about the objective of qualifying, because I’m fifth in the Race. If the objective is that I can panic thinking ‘not to miss four positions’. My goal is to finish the year in the Top 5, maintain my position “I think that’s a better mentality, to get to the Finals and play good tennis the rest of the year.”

In a day of extensive American prominence, Frances Tiafoe booked her place in the third round after beating local guest Zhou Yi 6-2, 6-4. The Marylander fought his way to victory without surrendering serve and will next face Roman Safiullin, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over Kazakh Alexander Bublik.

Did you know that…?
Taylor Fritz aims to become the first American to reach the final of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. Since its introduction into the ATP Tour calendar in 2009, Sebastian Korda’s semi-finals last season are the best result by a compatriot in the Chinese ATP Masters 1000.