It was only five days ago that the two Americans, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz, last faced each other. In the final of the ATP grass-court tournament in Stuttgart, Ben Shelton came out on top in three sets. Taylor Fritz was out for revenge for that final defeat, and he achieved it in impressive fashion. With his 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 7-6(3) victory, the 28-year-old has now reached the semi-finals for the first time in his third appearance in Halle.
As expected, the serve was the defining element of the match right from the start. Both players served very well, making life difficult for the returner. Neither player managed to create a break point, although Taylor Fritz, as the returner, was at least able to win more points than his opponent. In his six service games, he lost just four points. As is well known, however, the cards are reshuffled in a tie-break. What happened before no longer counts. Taylor Fritz seemed more nervous; his first serve was no longer as effective, and so Ben Shelton managed two so-called mini-breaks, one of which came at 7–5, securing the set for the 23-year-old.
Losing the set seemed to unsettle Tylor Fritz briefly; at any rate, his first service game in the second set didn’t go as smoothly as before. This gave Ben Shelton a break point, which he failed to capitalise on. From then on, the servers dominated once more almost at will – it was simply impressive how both of them served. Once again, the set went to a tie-break – and it was a real thriller. Suddenly, the strength of the two Americans’ returns came to the fore. There were seven mini-breaks before Taylor Fritz converted his third set point. Ben Shelton had a match point at 7–6, but Taylor Fritz brilliantly fended it off.
The heat took its toll on the players. In the third set, both Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz began to run out of steam. Their serves were no longer as powerful, the pace had dropped, and so there were more rallies, which didn’t exactly help their stamina. Both were now battling not only their opponent but also themselves, pushing themselves to their limits. Ben Shelton had three break points, but failed to convert any of them. Taylor Fritz didn’t have a single break point opportunity throughout the entire match. Consequently: a tie-break. And in that final tie-break, Taylor Fritz dug deep once more and converted his first match point to win 7–3 after two hours and 45 minutes.
Losing a match in which you haven’t lost your serve even once is bitter. Conversely, winning a match without managing a single break is a stroke of luck. Taylor Fritz was understandably delighted: “I’m absolutely delighted to have reached the semi-finals. It was a really tough and crazy match. I’m glad I was able to get my own back for the final defeat in Stuttgart.”
