Taylor Fritz’s surge up the ATP rankings continued on Wednesday at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel. Twenty-four hours after upsetting Jeremy Chardy, the American qualifier crushed Victor Estrella Burgos 6-1, 6-3 to book his spot in the quarterfinals of the 500-point event.
Fritz was broken once in the second set, but it hardly mattered because he broke Estrella Burgos a total of five times in eight return games. The 18-year-old clinched victory in style by breaking again at 5-3 in the second, sealing the deal in exactly one hour.
Currently at No. 102 in the world, Fritz is expected to reach the top 80 even if he loses his next match to Sam Querrey. That all-American showdown was set up when Querrey ousted No. 2 seed Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-3. In fact, each of Acapulco’s top two seeds–and the two finalists from last year’s event–bowed out in the second round. David Ferrer, the defending champion, exited the tournament by losing to Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6-4.
“I think everything suits me here,” Dolgopolox commented. “I’ve played well here on clay courts; I’ve played well here on hard courts. And that’s why I’m coming back here and enjoying myself. It’s great to get wins like this… I think I was quite calm. I was happy I’m on court because I was injured last week. I played relaxed and the pressure was more on him. I was aggressive and went for my shots.”
Dolgopolov interview:
[polldaddy poll=9323188]
who ya got?
Fritz in three
Sammy boy in two… I have never seen Fritz play? Doesn’t get televised here in South Africa for some reason, they televising Dubai and Doha.
He must be quite decent…
I usually don’t invest time in waching Querrey unless he is playing one of my favourites – i’m not a fan of bang-wallop players – but i am intrigued by the young Fritz who I have not seen play yet. Will try to keep awake for this match. Judging by his form this week however Querrey will be a tough customer for the 18 year old.
Querrey in 3