Taylor Fritz stayed ahead of the chasing Nitto ATP Finals contenders at the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday with a 7-6(4), 6-2 victory over Australian Aleksandar Vukic.
While fellow Turin prospects Ben Shelton, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Daniil Medvedev all also claimed victory on Tuesday, Fritz ensured he remained next in line to qualify fifth in the PIF ATP Live Race to Turin.
The fourth-seeded American, who fell to Jannik Sinner in last year’s season finale title match, claimed his 52nd win of the season after firing 12 aces and clubbing 10 forehand winners.
“It was a tough match,” Fritz said. “I thought he served very well in the first set. I looked at the percentage after the set. I was curious. It was 72 percent. But that was after the tiebreak. Until then, I think he missed three first serves in the tiebreak or something like that.”
“He probably served 80 percent of the first serves and hit points on them. He has a great first serve. So I did a good job of just holding serve and playing a good tiebreak, and then I found the breaks in the second set.”
The 2024 US Open finalist awaits the winner of 13th seed Alexander Bublik and Frenchman Corentin Moutet in the third round.
“Anyway, it will be a very difficult match,” said Fritz. “They both do a lot of shots that make you feel uncomfortable, I would say, especially Moutet, but also Bublik, the drop shots, both of them. It’s a lot of craziness. So I have to be very mentally ready for that match.”
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