Atlanta top seed Taylor Fritz made quick work of quarterfinal opponent Kei Nishikori in the Atlanta quarterfinals. Fellow American J.J. Wolf also advanced on Friday afternoon at the expense of Dominik Koepfer.
Top-ranked American Taylor Fritz posted a 6-4, 6-2 win over Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the Atlanta quarterfinals on Friday. Nishikori, who has been sidelined since 2021 after enduring hip and elbow surgery. The world No. 439 has been making his comeback on the Challenger circuit; Atlanta was his first ATP tournament since the 2021 Indian Wells Masters.
Fritz outplayed a clearly fatigued Nishikori through both sets. The No. 1 seed was particularly dominant on serve. He faced just one break point during a slightly errant game at 4-2, but he quickly erased it with a big serve. He lost just 8 points total on serve. This is the first hard-court event of the summer season for Fritz.
“It’s come here and get used to the heat,” Fritz said of his participation in Atlanta this week. “It’s something that I’m going to have to deal with at all the other tournaments–D.C., Toronto and Cincinnati. It’s all going to be hot.”
Fritz will take on Friday afternoon’s other winner, J.J. Wolf, in the semifinals.
Wolf, who is ranked 46th in the world, advanced to the semis with a routine 6-2, 6-3 win over German Dominik Koepfer. Wolf served up nine aces and no double-faults. Saturday’s semifinal against countryman Fritz will be the first career meeting for the two men.
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Wolf playing well