By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Sunday July 30, 2023
Fritz outlasted Aleksandar Vukic in three tight sets to claim his sixth career title.
Photo Source: Getty
Taylor Fritz dropped a set for the first time all week in Sunday’s Atlanta Open final, but the 25-year-old American rallied to push past Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic, 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-4, to claim his sixth career title, and second of 2023.
Ninth-ranked Fritz, now 38-16 on the season, needed two hours and 16 minutes to get past the 27-year-old Sydney native at Atlanta Station. He fired 16 aces, cracked 31 winners and won 47 of 56 first-serve points.
Fritz, who played the final at Atlanta in 2019, and reached the semifinal in 2021, says he was relieved to take the title despite dropping a tight middle set to the former University of Illinois standout.
“I've always been close so it's nice, I don't think I could've handled another loss in the final," Fritz said. "It feels really good to get the job done."
Fritz had triple break point in the opening game of the third set but couldn’t convert. He created the same scenario in the seventh game, with Vukic serving at 3-3, and broke through to notch the critical break.
The American won eight of his final nine service points to lock down the title.
Vukic, who hit 41 winners against 13 unforced errors, but never saw a break point opportunity, was playing his first ATP final. He drops to 7-9 on the season and will rise to a career-high ranking of 62 in Monday’s ATP rankings.
"Overall, if someone would have told me that I would make the final here, I would have signed it 1,000 times," Vukic said.