AAlejandro Davidovich, the only surviving Spaniard in the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo, qualified for the semifinals of the tournament after overcoming the match against the American Taylor Fritz 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, after almost two and a half hours of match.
With this victory, the man from Malaga signs his best performance so far in a Masters 1000 tournament, where he had reached the quarterfinals, precisely last year also in Monte Carlo.
But Davidovich had to suffer to stay in contention in the Monegasque tournament. In front of him was Taylor Fritz, one of the most fashionable players of the season. A few weeks ago he became the first American since Andre Agassi (2001) to win the Masters 1,000 in Indian Wells. He also did it by beating Rafael Nadal, which was the first defeat for the Spaniard this season.
For this reason, Fritz’s greatest success in the first set tipped the balance in his favor for a clear 6-2. The American won most of his points on the second serve, while the Malaga native was unable to take advantage of the five break points he had. He had to come back to be in the semifinals.
And with that challenge began the second set. It was again difficult for the man from Malaga to find that game that he had displayed throughout the tournament and that had allowed him to break first a Djokovic Y then, in the round of 16, to Goffin.
But Davidovich took advantage of his tricks and Fritz’s unforced errors to break the American for the first time in the middle of the second round and make it 5-4 in his favor, with serve. At 40-40, the man from Malaga needed to dismantle several advantages from his rival to close the set with a right hand that allowed him to equalize the match.
Resurrection in the definitive set
The third set was already another story, more similar to the Davidovich of the first meetings in Monte Carlo. The Spaniard went on the attack and, with the score at 1-1 -after Fritz had saved several break balls-, he broke the American’s serve to take the lead in the match with 2-1 and service.
Fritz had not said his last word and returned the break to tie the duel, without the man from Malaga being able to put up little resistance. In an eternal fifth game, the American withstood Davidovich’s attacks to make it 3-2, despite the fact that he was in sight and that his physical condition -he had to be treated by the physio at the end of the first set- was not the from the start of the meeting.
The Spaniard won his serve and managed to break Fritz’s to get the third set back on track at 4-3. From there, with the American almost beaten, Davidovich was placed 5-3 to sign his pass to the semifinals to the rest. He broke Fritz, the 10th seed in the tournament, for his best-ever Masters 1000 ranking.
