ATP Tour

Fritz claws past Landaluce in third-set tie-break in Stuttgart

Taylor Fritz survived a major test from 20-year-old Martin Landaluce on Thursday at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart, where he battled past the Spaniard to earn a hard-fought 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-6(3) opening win.

Fritz lifted the trophy at the ATP 250 grass-court event last season but was in trouble deep in the second set. The American was two points from defeat at 4-5, 0/30 in the second set but reeled off three consecutive games to level. The second seed then found first serves in the third-set tie-break and received a lucky break when Landaluce missed a smash on top of the net at 3/5.

“I think I was getting better throughout the match,” Fritz said, “I was having more fun in the end. I think the first bit was more frustrating. I think sometimes you have to play yourself into the tournament. Some of those big moments I had a lot of chances and was not able to convert or hit the shots I wanted to hit. But I felt as the match went on I started playing better and better and that gives me confidence going into the next match.”

Fritz, who was competing on grass for the first time this year, is chasing his sixth title on the surface. Out of active players, only Novak Djokovic (8) has won more on grass. The World No. 10 has now earned 350 tour-level wins, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, and will next play Mattia Bellucci in the quarter-finals.

Earlier, 2023 Stuttgart champion Frances Tiafoe defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata 6-4, 6-4 to reach his 50th tour-level quarter-final.

The American leads Hijikata 4-1 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series and will next meet fourth seed Jiri Lehecka after the Czech clawed past James Duckworth 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(3). Lehecka struck 16 aces in his two-hour, 29-minute win.

Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro downed Australian wild card Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to advance to his maiden tour-level quarter-final. The 28-year-old is up to No. 96 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and will rise into the Top 100 for the first time on Monday. Shimabukuro will next face top seed Ben Shelton or Marcos Giron.

Later in the day, the second-round clash between Shelton and Giron was suspended at 4-4 in the second set due to slippery conditions on Center Court, after Giron had clinched the first set 7-6(4). The players will return Friday afternoon to finish the match, before the winner will face Shimabukuro for a place in the last four.