Top-Seeded Fritz Fights off Korda and Injury to Reach Dallas Semis

Taylor Fritz can’t seem to catch a break on the injury front. The American entered the season hampered by a knee injury, but he has elected to play through it rather than rest. Today in Dallas, the knee wasn’t the problem; it was the right elbow, which suffered intense pain after he lunged to reach a screaming return off the racquet of Sebastian Korda.

In the end, the pain didn’t stop Fritz from scratching out a hard-fought win over his compatriot in a match that could have gone either way. Fritz secured a 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-6(5) victory to set a semifinal clash with Marin Cilic.

Fritz v Cilic, Head-To-Head

The 37-year-old Cilic eased past British qualifier Jack Pinnington Jones, 6-1, 6-4, to reach his 68th ATP semifinal.

Korda played a fantastic match, creating numerous opportunities on return, including four break points, but Fritz would not yield.

“It’s tough,” Fritz said. “He played a lot of really good return games where I found myself in these tight moments, pressure situations. I didn’t really feel like I did too much wrong. He played a lot of good points, and to me, honestly, it was easier… I am not getting frustrated and can kind of accept the fact that it’s 15-30 or 0-30, and I just have to lock in.”

After dropping the opening set in a tiebreak, things did not look promising for the World No. 7 and top seed. He had suffered an injury to his elbow and required a medical timeout.

Eventually, the injury settled, and Fritz said he was able to stop worrying as the pain subsided. He played a clean second set and broke Korda at love in the tenth game to force a decider.

In the final set, Fritz was down 0-30 while serving at 2-2, then faced a break point at 3-3 (30-40), but he found his way out of trouble. In the tiebreak, he roared through the final five points, overcoming a 5-2 deficit to clinch his fourth win in five career meetings with Korda.