Taylor Fritz thought he would have to miss the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships after testing positive for COVID-19 in Seoul, where he had to quarantine for one week. But after arriving just in time for his Tokyo opener on Wednesday, the American has made the most of his opportunity by reaching the final at the ATP 500.
The odds were once again stacked against Fritz against Denis Shapovalov in the Saturday's semi-finals, but the American battled back from 1-3 down in the deciding set to secure a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-3 victory and advance to his third ATP Tour final of the season.
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Adding to the achievement, Fritz also clinched what will be his Top 10 debut in next week's edition Pepperstone ATP Rankings.
In an exhibition of first-strike tennis from both men in the Ariake Colosseum, the American was in control early. He led by a set and broke for 3-2 in the second before Shapovalov snapped back with an immediate reply to level.
The Canadian was fearless in winning a dramatic tie-break to force a third set. After seeing a Fritz passing shot clip the line to erase a mini-break and knot the score at 4-4, Shapovalov ventured forward again on each of the next two points and was rewarded for his bravery. He then claimed the set by moving Fritz from corner to corner in a tense rally that was one of the longest of the match.
Gesturing to the crowd after sealing the set, Shapovalov rode his momentum to a 3-1 lead in the decider.
But a love hold helped Fritz rediscovered his best form, as he rattled off the final five games of the match to set up an all-American final against Frances Tiafoe.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/PU9dGgA
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