Taylor Fritz continued his impressive form at the 2024 National Bank Open, securing a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Andrey Rublev to book a spot in the semifinals in Toronto. Despite a brief lapse in the second set, Fritz’s dominant serve and mental resilience helped him finish strong. Fritz was one point away from sealing the match at 5-4 in the second set before Rublev forced a tie-break, but Fritz recovered to secure the victory.
Aces and Focus Lead Fritz to Victory
Fritz, who has been on a hot streak with 18 wins in his last 21 matches, showed his serving prowess once again, firing 20 aces in total, including 9 in the first set alone. He won 79% of his first serves, putting immense pressure on Rublev. Despite Rublev’s solid serving, Fritz broke him early in the match, securing a lead that he maintained throughout.
Reflecting on the match, Fritz admitted, “That whole game was so shaky for me. It’s weird because he was holding easy, I was holding easy. It felt so like calm and chill and all of a sudden I’m serving to be in the semis, the pressure of the game came out of nowhere.”
Ben Shelton Awaits Fritz in the Semifinals
Fritz, who has now recorded 20 hard-court wins in 2024, will next face fellow American Ben Shelton in the semifinals. Shelton made light work of Alex de Minaur in his quarterfinal, winning 6-3, 6-4. The upcoming semifinal promises to be an exciting encounter between two rising stars.
Fritz, now the first American to reach the semifinals of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, is poised for another big challenge. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it, it was a tight game. My brain kind of turned off. The only thing you can do is come back and win the set. I would be a lot more upset about what happened in the game if I lose the match. Winning makes it feel not as bad,” he said.
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