By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, November 4, 2021
Taylor Fritz denied double set point conquering Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-6(3) to become American No. 1 and set up a Paris quarterfinal vs. world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
Photo credit: Rolex Paris Masters Facebook
Confidence continues to drive Taylor Fritz forward—and fuel fearlessness.
Staring down double set point today, a daring Fritz let his shots fly landing both his first Rolex Paris Masters quarterfinal and the No. 1 Americna ranking.
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Fritz denied set points in the 10th game of the second set, conquering Cameron Norrie 6-3, 7-6(3) to set up a Paris quarterfinal vs. world No. 1 Novak Djokovic.
A red-hot Fritz hit 10 more winners than the 10th-seeded Norrie—26 to 16—and did not drop serve for the second straight match scoring his 11th win in his last 13 matches to improve to 33-20 in 2021.
The victory vaults Fritz to a new career-high of No. 23 in the live rankings propelling him past buddies John Isner and Reilly Opelka, who fell to Norrie yesterday, as the new American No. 1 intent on rising even higher.
"That’s awesome," Fritz told Tennis Channel's Prakash Amritraj afterward. "I think what Reilly did in the US Open swing, I didn’t think anyone was going to catch up to him then all of a sudden it’s Indian Wells, St. Petersburg then here.
"I hope I can keep improving because it's number one American, but we have a rich history of number one Americans being ranked a little higher than 20. I want to have better results and keep moving up the rankings."
It was Fritz's fourth consecutive victory over a Top 20 player following his straight-sets win over sixth-ranked Andrey Rublev yesterday and Indian Wells' triumphs over Alexander Zverev and Matteo Berrettini.
So what's the difference between this Fritz and the man who managed just four games falling to Norrie in the Los Cabos semifinals last July?
A crunching serve and conviction to attack his groundstrokes and play first-strike tennis are notable differences. Fritz showed those qualities today. Serving at 4-5 and staring down two set point, Fritz didn't flinch banging a serve winner and blasting a clean crosscourt forehand to save set points in a match-defining sequence.
"I felt really good. I was confident going after the ball hitting my forehand," Fritz said. "The times I lose to Cam I feel I can’t put the ball away on him. And the times that I’m able to beat Cam I am very aggressive, hitting my forehand well feeling like I’m able to finish points.
"I’ve been feeling confident lately and I kind of just let my forehand go on a lot of big points. I was down two set points and the one I just went for a really big forehand and made it. That was the difference maker. It was really close but I did a good job kind of saving myself in a lot of games where I was maybe down 15-30 or 30-all I did a good job of kind of playing good points and not getting broken."
Widely regarded as one of the best ball strikers among all American men, Fritz’s consistency, shot selection and quickness have sometimes stalled his progress in the past. Trusting his shots at crunch time, ripping the wide serve to set up his first strike and playing smarter situational tennis have empowered Fritz to the most dynamic tennis of his career.
“How I’m playing in certain situations [is important]; I’m just not playing scared I’m going after the ball,” Fritz said afterward. “Down set point a lot of times in the past few years I would not have pulled the trigger on a forehand and I wouldn’t’ have felt the confidence to do that. I think it’s just playing with an aggressive mind-set and playing good under pressure and kind of just trusting my forehand as a weapon.”
The backhand bailed Fritz out of break point in the opening game. Fritz fought off a break point in the first game today launching leaping backhand winner down the line to help navigate a tricky hold.
Twenty-one minutes into the match, Norrie lost the plot on serve committing a couple of double faults and sailing a backhand to gift the break and a 4-2 lead to Fritz.
The 6’4” Fritz can crack his serve with more vigor than Norrie—his average first-serve speed was 23 mph faster in the opening set—and showed it backing up the break for 5-2.
St. Petersburg finalist Fritz served out the 33-minute opener at 30.
The 26-year-old Norrie subdued stress saving a pair of break points holding for a 4-3 second-set lead. Fortune favored Fritz when his backhand drive clipped the top of the tape and crawled over on Norrie’s side of net evening it after eight games.
Staring down double-set point in the 10th game, Fritz flashed a serve winner to save the first and fired a first-strike forehand winner to save the second set point. A crackling ace down the middle and a Norrie netted forehand helped Fritz dodge danger and level 5-all.
The British No. 1 won the first point of the tiebreaker before Fritz answered with a five-point spree smacking a forehand winner down the line for 5-1. Norrie's fourth double fault handed Fritz match points. On his second match point, the American drilled a diagonal forehand winner closing in one hour, 33 minutes.
Five-time Paris champion Djokovic took a walkover into tomorrow's quarterfinal as scheduled opponent Gael Monfils withdrew due to a groin injury he sustained in his victory over compatriot Adrian Mannarino yesterday. Djokovic has won all four meetings with Fritz, including a 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 Australian Open victory last February.
"I feel like the last two times we’ve played it has been pretty close," Fritz said. "I’m playing my best tennis ever. I just have to be aggressive and go after it. So if I’m serving well and playing well I think I can push him."
Miami Open champion Hubert Hurkacz continued his quest to sew up the eighth and final spot for the ATP Finals in Turin with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over left-handed lucky loser Dominik Koepfer, who had taken out former No. 1 Andy Murray and ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime in succession.
The seventh-seeded Hurkacz faces hard-hitting Aussie James Duckworth in the quarterfinals. In an all-Aussie round-of-16 clash, the 29-year-old Duckworth defeated Alexei Popyrin 7-6(6), 6-4 to reach his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal in his Paris debut.