American Fritz and Chilean Tabilo Shine in Rome Masters 1000: Quarterfinal Hopes Alive

Fritz confirms his good form

Call him “Claylor” Fritz from now on. This is how the Californian signed the camera this Tuesday after his victory in the round of 16 against Grigor Dimitrov in Rome, a way of highlighting his love for clay. A recent semi-finalist in Madrid, he became the first American to reach the quarters of all the Masters 1000 on ocher. To do this, he showed himself to be the most consistent, winning in three sets (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) and 2h42 of play against a Bulgarian on alternating current. He will challenge Alexander Zverev or Nuno Borges for a place in the last four.

Fritz was very solid throughout the game (29 winning shots for 13 unforced errors against… 38 for Dimitrov) and remarkably fixed his opponent in the backhand diagonal. But he could have suffered the loss of a second act at the knifepoint 13 points to 11 in the tie-break. It must be recognized that the Bulgarian had seen his perseverance pay off, he who had not converted any of his 11 break points in the first two sets, resetting the counters to zero on his… 10th set point. But Dimitrov was unable to digest this remarkable effort. His decline in physical fitness, marked by an accumulation of errors (three consecutive double faults at 4-1 against him in particular), allowed Fritz to fly away in the last round.

Tabilo continues to surprise

It was not a waste of time. Impressive for sweeping away a Novak Djokovic certainly next to his subject in the 3rd round, Alejandro Tabilo continued in the most beautiful way on Tuesday. He thus muzzled Karen Khachanov, 18th player in the world, in two tie-breaks (7-6, 7-6) in 2h32 in the round of 16 at the Foro Italico.

This third victory over a member of the Top 20 in his career allows him to reach his first quarter in Masters 1000 and he can dream of going further since he will face Zhang Zhizhen or Thiago Monteiro. Titled in Aix-en-Provence in Challenger, the Chilean won his 7th match in a row, quite a series, and will be at least in the Top 30 next week.

2024-05-14 12:21:00
#ATP #Rome #Taylor #Fritz #Alejandro #Tabilo #qualify #quarterfinals #time