Taylor Fritz was in a dangerous mood at the US Open Thursday, when he dropped only two games to defeat Mattia Bellucci in just 98 minutes at the hard-court major.
The No. 10 player in the PIF ATP Rankings cruised to a 6-0, 6-1, 6-1 second-round victory inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, building on his straight-sets win against countryman Darwin Blanch in his opener to reach the third round in New York.
"I came out feeling really good," Fritz said. "I felt very confident with the way I was playing. The whole match I didn't have many nerves. I was just playing aggressive and playing really well. It just felt great."
Fritz did not lose a single game in the opening set and continued competing with steely resolve as the match progressed. The ninth seed converted eight of 15 break points he earned and saved all three he faced to improve to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the Italian lefty. With the victory, the 28-year-old became the fourth man to record 200 hard-court tour-level wins in this decade after Daniil Medvedev, Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev.
Fritz, who is bidding to become the first American player to win a major since Andy Roddick in 2003, is now 33-15 for the season and 19-5 on American soil. Aiming to go one step further than his 2024 runner-up finish in New York and claim his maiden major crown, the American will face Francisco Cerundolo in the third round.
Earlier in the day, 24th seed Argentine Cerundolo battled past German Jan-Lennard Struff 5-7, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 in three hours and 54 minutes.
Elsewhere, fifth seed Flavio Cobolli overcame another slow start in New York, where he rallied to oust Australian qualifier Tristan Schoolkate 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in the second round.
In his opening match at the hard-court major, Cobolli had to fight back from two sets to love down, and it initially looked as though the Italian could be in for another battle against Schoolkate, who was bidding to reach the third round at a major for the first time.
But after dropping the opening set, the 24-year-old raised his level and took control, entertaining the crowd with a series of spectacular points, including a forward-facing tweener lob winner early in the third set. The Roland Garros finalist eventually motored to victory in two hours and 42 minutes, having fired 43 winners to Schoolkate’s 29.
"Thank you to the crowd, you guys have [given me] a lot [of support] during these first two matches," Cobolli said to the fans on Grandstand. "I feel incredible and involved with you and I love it. Playing in front of you and playing on this court is always special."
World No. 180 Schoolkate was bidding to become the lowest-ranked player to defeat a Top 10 opponent at a major since No. 186 Daniel Altmaier upset No. 8 Matteo Berrettini at Roland Garros in 2020.
The next test for Cobolli, who also reached the US Open third round in 2024 and 2025, will be a meeting with Alexander Blockx. Later in the day, the 21-year-old Belgian beat Marco Trungelliti 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 to advance to the third round at a major for the first time in his career.
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