Taylor Fritz managed to shake off a sharp pain that struck him during the tenth game of the opening set of his Nexo Dallas Open quarterfinal with compatriot Sebastian Korda.
It was weird, but then I got the painkillers and as the match went on I didn’t feel it anymore and I could rely on it and I didn’t have any pain for the whole third, most of the second set. Taylor Fritz
With the help of regular physio visits, the top seed eventually secured a 6-7(2) 6-4 7-6(5) victory to reach the semi-finals after two hours and 29 minutes of nervous play.
At the end of the game, Fritz talked about the moment his campaign in Dallas was almost derailed.
“That was a weird one. He hit a really hard return and so I had to hit a kind of backhand and the way I did [hit it]I just pinched my elbow, I think. It was a hard-hit ball, so I think the way I hit it behind me and extended my elbow, I immediately felt a very sharp pain in my elbow,” Fritz explained during his on-court interview.
“I went to the towel box, I felt it and I thought, ‘I’ll try to hit a serve’. Luckily I made it and it wasn’t a bad serve because the ball came back and I couldn’t hit the next ball. It was such a sharp pain.”
After the first visit to the physiotherapist the pain disappeared.
“It felt like it was better and then I started to get some confidence in it. And then I served one that gave me the exact same pain and it’s such a sharp pain… like I can barely hold the racket. No chance I can hit the next ball,” Fritz added. “It was weird, but then I got the painkillers and as the match went on I didn’t feel it anymore. I could rely on it and I had no pain for the whole third set, most of the second set.”
As a result, the match was always on the edge, but Korda failed to make the most of his opportunities, especially in the final set tiebreak, when he made two unforced backhand errors when leading 5–4, allowing Fritz to get back into the match and sweep past him for the win.
Fritz will next face former US Open champion and world number 3 from Croatia, Marin Cilic, who stormed past Britain’s Jack Pennington Jones 6-1 6-4 in just 78 minutes.
The experienced Croatian, with 21 titles to his name, has beaten Fritz just once in the previous three encounters, but they have not met since 2022.
(Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images)
In the other quarter-final, second seed Ben Shelton eased past Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7 6-3 6-4 after one hour and 58 minutes to advance to his 13th tour-level semi-final and first since winning the biggest title of his career at the Toronto Masters last August.
Kecmanovic took control of the pair’s first meeting early on, capitalizing on Shelton’s 17 unforced errors while making just four himself to claim the opening set.
Shelton responded quickly in the second set, breaking for a 2-0 lead and once in front he played with more control and consistency, making a decisive break at 2-2 in the third when Kecmanovic delivered a double fault.
“Tonight it was more about making shots, one-twos, putting returns on the court with quality and big moments. For me, that’s what really got me over the line,” Shelton said. “I thought he played extremely well. It was really difficult to get the points from the baseline.”
Next up for Shelton is defending champion Denis Shapovalov, who defeated seventh seed Alejandro Davidovic Fokina 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 to reach his 26th tour-level semifinal.
Despite dropping the first set after being broken at love at 5-5, Shapovalov responded well. He held serve throughout the second set and made a crucial break at 5-4 to clinch the win.
He then pulled away to take a 3–1 lead thanks to two double faults from the Spaniard and maintained his form to claim victory after one hour and 57 minutes with 40 winners including 17 aces.
“I had to keep it going in the second. I had a few matches where I lost my rhythm a little bit and I tried to get it back as best as I could,” Shapovalov said. “I got a bit lucky in that 5-4 game, a couple of loose double faults from Alex and was able to capitalize. So yeah, definitely a bit of luck there, but I played a great third set and was just happy to be alive.”
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