Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in action during his round of 32 match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. Photo: REUTERS
LONDON:
Second-seeded Taylor Fritz drilled 15 aces while overwhelming fellow American Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-5 on Saturday to reach the final at the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes in Lyon, France.
Fritz also saved all nine break points he faced during the strong semifinal performance against the fourth-seeded Paul. Fritz had a 32-26 edge in winners and both players committed 21 unforced errors.
Fritz will next face sixth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated fellow Italian and top seed Flavio Cobolli 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the other semifinal. Musetti saved four match points in the final set to hold off Cobolli. He committed just 22 unforced errors compared to 36 for Cobolli.
Musetti will be chasing his third ATP title. He is 4-3 all-time against Fritz and has won four of the past five meetings. Fritz will be aiming for his 12th career ATP crown.
BNP Paribas Fortis European Open
Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff recorded 15 aces and outlasted top-seeded Arthur Fils of France 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (5) to reach the final in Brussels.
Fils carded 17 aces and saved 7 of 10 break points but could not stop Struff, who won the final two points of the tiebreaker to win the match. Struff had a 43-42 edge in winners and won 18 of 27 points at the net.
Struff next faces Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, who rallied for a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 3 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina. Griekspoor had a 9-3 edge in aces and committed 24 unforced errors, nine fewer than Cerundolo.
Griekspoor has won all three previous meetings against Struff. He is looking for his fourth ATP title, while Struff is vying to win his second.
Almaty Open
Top-seeded Russian Daniil Medvedev advanced to his second straight Almaty Open final Saturday when third-seeded Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan retired with a knee injury after losing the opening set 6-3.
Defending champion Medvedev had a 9-3 edge in aces in the first set as Bublik struggled to move on the court. After the match, Bublik said he injured his knee in his quarterfinal win over Russian Karen Khachanov on Friday and was advised by doctors not to play shortly before the start of Saturday’s match.
Medvedev will now face Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, who defeated No. 7 Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in his semifinal. Basilashvili had a 35-19 edge in winners while Tsitsipas had an 11-7 advantage in aces.
Medvedev won the lone meeting against Basilashvili, winning in the round of 32 in 2022 at Vienna. Medvedev is gunning for his 25th career ATP title while Basilashvili is looking for his sixth.
