Fritz Dazzles in Dallas: Shelton, Michelsen & Cilic Also Win | ATP Tour
With behind-the-back hot shot and ‘best returning in years’, Fritz dazzles in Dallas win
Shelton, Michelsen also advance
In a Nexo Dallas Open rubber match, Taylor Fritz defeated fellow American Marcos Giron in the opening round of the ATP 500 tournament. After the pair had split their two previous meetings at the event, Fritz prevailed Tuesday night with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(1), marking his first action since the Australian Open.
Fritz, the top seed in Dallas for the fourth time in five years, dominated the deciding tie-break, racing to a 6/0 lead. According to Infosys ATP Stats, he didn’t face a break point in the final set, while Giron saved all four against him in the decider.
“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 after the match. “From a returning serve standpoint, that’s the best returning set I’ve played in years, I think.”
The victory extends Fritz’s impressive record in the opening round of hard-court events, having gone 13-0 in such matches last season. He also improved his record to 17-1 against players outside the Top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings since June, and to 6-2 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Giron.
The match featured several notable moments, including a potential shot-of-the-year contender. Fritz executed a behind-the-back winner after a net cord left him in an awkward position. He also received early treatment for a leg tweak, but quickly recovered, stating the issue was unrelated to his ongoing 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.”
Elsewhere in the tournament, Ben Shelton secured a 6-4, 6-4 victory against Gabriel Diallo. Shelton saved all three break points against him and has now won 10 of his 11 opening-round matches since Wimbledon.
Marin Cilic achieved his 600th tour-level win, defeating sixth seed Learner Tien 7-5, 7-6(4). This accomplishment places him alongside Novak Djokovic as one of only two active players to reach this milestone.
Further upsets occurred with Jack Pinnington Jones defeating fourth seed Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-2, and Alex Michelsen overcoming Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.