Taylor Fritz survives delay & Joao Fonseca to reach Eastbourne quarter-finals

Eastbourne

Fritz survives delay & #NextGenATP Fonseca to reach Eastbourne QFs

Defending champion will face Giron later on Thursday

Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for LTA Taylor Fritz beats Joao Fonseca in three sets on Thursday in Eastbourne. By Jerome Coombe

Taylor Fritz overcame a late scare from #NextGenATP Brazilian Joao Fonseca on Thursday to continue his love affair with the Lexus Eastbourne Open.

Their second-round clash had been suspended due to darkness on Wednesday evening after they split sets, and Fritz quickly regained his rhythm once play resumed. The three-time champion earned an early break and attempted to serve out the match at 5-3 in the final set before Fonseca fought back.

However, Fritz adjusted well to the windy conditions and a determined Fonseca to prevail 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5 after two hours, two minutes. The top-seeded American, who owns the record for most titles won in Eastbourne (2019, ‘22, ‘24), will have to lace up and return to court later on Thursday to face countryman Marcos Giron in the quarter-finals.

“I’m really happy. I was really happy with the level of tennis last night, it’s a shame we couldn’t finish the match then,” said Fritz. “Coming out today, it was tough to really judge my grass-court play, there was a lot of scrapping around.”

Fritz was looking assured on serve throughout the final set, during which he won all 11 points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats, prior to the ninth game. Despite stumbling at the final hurdle, Fritz was able to draw on his grass-court pedigree, which has helped him to three triumphs in Eastbourne and a first title of the season two weeks ago in Stuttgart.

“I think almost half of my career titles are on grass, which says a lot for how short the grass-court season is,” said Fritz, the nine-time tour-level champion. “I feel really confident on it, I feel like I can be serving well, taking care of service games when it’s not really windy.”

The top-seeded Fritz takes a 4-2 Lexus ATP Head2Head lead into his clash with Giron. Fonseca, who is at a career-high No. 57 in the PIF ATP Rankings, earned his maiden tour-level grass-court win over Zizou Bergs in the first round. The 18-year-old will now head to Wimbledon for his debut at the grass-court major.

Click here to read article