ATP Tour

With behind-the-back hot shot and 'best returning in years', Fritz dazzles in Dallas win

In a Nexo Dallas Open rubber match, Taylor Fritz used a late surge to defeat fellow American Marcos Giron in the opening round at the ATP 500. After the pair split two previous meetings at the event, Fritz prevailed Tuesday night, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(1), in his first action since the Australian Open.

The top seed in Dallas for the fourth time in five years, Fritz made his statistical superiority count by storming to a 6/0 lead in the deciding tie-break. He did not face a break point in the final set, while Giron saved all four against him in the decider, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

"I know it sounds crazy, because I didn't break serve, but I think that whole third set is the best set of tennis I've returned," Fritz said post-match. "From a returning serve standpoint, that's the best returning set I've played in years, I think."

Fritz's victory continued his dominance in the opening round of hard-court events after posting a 13-0 mark on such occasions last season. The American also improved to 17-1 against players outside the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings since June and 6-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Giron.

Long before the third-set tie-break, there were two flash points in the opening set, including a shot-of-the-year contender. Fritz came up with the gem when he went behind the back for a winner after a net cord appeared to leave him stranded. Fritz also required early treatment for a tweak in his leg, but he quickly recovered and said the issue was not related to his lingering knee tendinitis.

"The shot I hit is cool, but it's honestly not that hard to hit," Fritz said modestly. "It was good. It was one of those where it was actually the only option I had, because I was moving, my momentum, I was fully lunging to the down-the-line pass and then, off balance, it was kind of all I had. But yeah, it was a fun one."

Ben Shelton also earned a Tuesday win, with the second seed notching a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Gabriel Diallo. The American saved all three break points against him and improved to 10-1 in opening rounds since Wimbledon.

Marin Cilic earned his 600th tour-level win with a 7-5, 7-6(4) upset of sixth seed Learner Tien, joining Novak Djokovic as the only active players to reach that wins milestone. The victory also moved him past fellow Croatian Goran Ivanisevic, who ended his career on 599 tour-level wins.

Great Britain's Jack Pinnington Jones also sprung an upset, beating fourth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-2, while Alex Michelsen knocked off Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.