Taylor Fritz continued his storming success on the Challenger Tour with a hard-fought win over fellow American Alexander Sarkissian.
The teenager won a close encounter 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 which saw Sarkissian just two points from victory in the third set tie-break. Fritz had lost just five points on serve in a dominant first set, taking advantage of his only break point to take the lead. However, his serve did not hold up during the second set, and he and Sarkissian would eventually trade breaks before Sarkissian played the perfect tie-break, not dropping a single point to force a decider. Fritz recovered his serve and though he denied Sarkissian any break chances, was forced to hold his nerve until deep into the tie-break, finally winning seven-five.
Meanwhile young Austrian Dennis Novak is close to a top 200 breakthrough. The twenty-two year old defeated Aldin Setkic by a impressive straight set scoreline 6-4, 6-4. Novak looks at least set to break his career-high ranking of No.209 when the new rankings come out on Monday.
There was also good news for two local players in action. Alex Bolt continued his encouraging return to form, as he defeated German Nils Langer 6-3, 6-2. Bolt is trying to recover his career high ranking of No. 160 after a injury lay-off in the latter part of last season. Finally, qualifier Andrew Whittington also progressed at the expense of fellow Aussie wildcard Bradley Mousley. Whittington won 7-5, 6-3.
Wednesday will see top seed Dudi Sela play in a draw now devoid of seeds. Sela and Fritz are now the only two seeds remaining after an original tally of eight. Sela plays qualifier Dwayne Kelly, who had taken out Brit Dan Evans in the first round
Wednesday action and selected picks (in bold)
Peter Polansky vs Jan Satral
Dudi Sela vs Dwayne Kelly
Hiroki Moriya vs Andrey Golubev
Marton Fucsovics vs Maverick Banes