By Alberto Amalfi | @Tennis_Now | Thursday, September 26, 2024

 

Twenty-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils toppled top-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on a day of upsets in Tokyo.

Photo credit: Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open 2024 Facebook

Call it the Laver Cup hangover or the rise of inspired underdogs.

Seeds were scattered in Tokyo today and many of the top casualties were coming off Laver Cup competition.

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Twenty-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils toppled top-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.



Fils fired 32 winners compared to 18 for Fritz.



It was Fils' fifth career Top 10 victory and comes nearly two months after he upset world No. 4 Alexander Zverev in the Hamburg final.

The 2022 champion Fritz arrived in Tokyo after a full Laver Cup weekend in Berlin. That transition required Laver Cup players to adjust to some severe jet leg as well as adapating to from indoor low-bouncing conditions in Berlin to steamier outdoor livelier conditions in Tokyo.

Laver Cup competitors Fritz, Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Frances Tiafoe all failed to survive the first hurdle in Tokyo.

Fritz, who fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the final match of Laver Cup on Sunday, smacked 15 aces but found himself defending in key rallies against the aggressive Frenchman.

American qualifier Alex Michelsen upset fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. Michelsen pumped nine aces against no double faults and converted all five break points he earned in a one hour, 48-minute win.

Aussie Jordan Thompson surprised third-seeded Casper Ruud 7-6(5), 6-1.   

Thompson defeated No. 12 Ruud to capture his maiden ATP Tour title in Los Cabos earlier this year. Since the start of the 2023 season, Thompson  is 5-7 vs. Top 10 opponents.

In a rematch of the 2014 US Open final, Japanese wild card Kei Nishikori thrilled home fans stopping Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.



Two-time Tokyo champion Nishikori converted three of seven break points against Cilic, who was coming offf his first ATP title since 2021 in Hangzhou. 

In an all-American clash, red-hot Brandon Nakashima defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 6-3. It was Nakashima's 15th victory in his last 19 matches sending the world No. 36 into a round of 16 clash vs. left-handed Frenchman Ugo Humbert.  At Wimbledon in July, Humbert edged Nakashima in four tight sets with three of the sets decided in tiebreakers.

Defending champion Ben Shelton, who also played Laver Cup last weekend, saved three of five break points rallying past compatriot Reilly Opelka 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Shelton will face Argentina's Mariano Navone next with the winner taking on either Arthur Fils or Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals.