Taylor Fritz fought through a tense first-round clash at the Kinoshita Group Japan Open Tennis Championships 2025 in Tokyo. The American recovered to beat Gabriel Diallo 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), preserving his perfect head-to-head record against the Canadian.
Coming off notable Laver Cup victories over Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev, Fritz had to dig deep. Diallo delivered 40 winners, forcing Fritz onto the back foot for much of the contest. Despite the pressure, the second seed found answers to seal a hard-earned win after two hours and nine minutes.
Fritz Reflects on the Energy Shift
“The biggest thing for me today was the energy, it’s really tough to match the energy from last week with Andre [Agassi] and the team going crazy on the bench,” said Fritz. “I really just had to find it and get it going. It was a really tough match to play.”
The Tokyo 2022 champion now owns a 46-17 record this season, second only to World No. 1 Alcaraz’s 62 victories. Ranked sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin, Fritz remains on course for a second straight Nitto ATP Finals appearance after finishing runner-up to Jannik Sinner in 2024.
Next Opponent and Other American Wins
Fritz moves on to face Portugal’s Nuno Borges in round two, where he will attempt to extend his strong run. It was also a productive day for U.S. players. Sebastian Korda came back to defeat Marcos Giron 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), while Jenson Brooksby upset sixth seed Ugo Humbert 7-6(4), 6-3.
Korda, who recently returned from a shin stress fracture, will meet Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro, who shocked fifth seed Tomas Machac. Brooksby will play Luciano Darderi, who ended Yoshihito Nishioka’s campaign in straight sets.
Korda climbed seven places to World No. 67 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. Brooksby recorded his 17th win of 2025 as he pursues a new career-best tally.
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