A return to American hard courts has generally proven to be rewarding for Taylor Fritz following overseas stints, and this summer appears to be no exception. Fritz has kicked off his hard-court summer with straight-set victories at the Atlanta Open over Yibing Wu and Kei Nishikori.
The world No. 9 is through to the Atlanta semifinals for the third time in his career and he is looking for a second trip to the championship match, having previously finished runner-up at Alex de Minaur in 2019. This week has produced some much-needed success for Fritz, who failed to win multiple matches at any of his four grass-court tournaments.
Up next for the 25-year-old on Saturday afternoon is a first-ever meeting with J.J. Wolf, who also has advanced in Atlanta without dropping a set. The former Ohio State standout did not have the benefit of a bye as the No. 8 seed, but he defeated Jason Jung 6-2, 6-1, Maxime Cressy 7-6(7), 6-3, and Dominik Koepfer 6-2, 6-3. This is Wolf’s second semifinal of the season and second in the United States (lost to John Isner in the Dallas semis).
“It’s interesting; we’ve never played each other,” Fritz commented, “which is odd since he’s been around for a bit and we’ve been playing the same tournaments. It will be interesting; I’m not really sure what to expect.”
This should be a good one, but Fritz has much more experience at the business end of tournaments and quick conditions in the heat of the day also favor the top seed. Look for him to get through another match in straight sets.
Pick: Fritz in 2
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